August 09, 2010
The Benefits of Ethanol
Published in The New York Times
To the Editor:
Re “Energy Subsidies — Good and Bad” (editorial, July 29):
For years, the government has needed to support renewable fuels like ethanol because they are competing against a heavily entrenched petroleum industry. This country has spent trillions of public and private dollars building a fueling infrastructure that benefits oil and effectively shuts out competitors. The consequences include not only huge environmental risks, but a $300 billion-a-year drain from our economy to pay for imported petroleum.
Growth Energy’s Fueling Freedom plan would redirect the ethanol tax credit away from oil companies — where it is currently used as an incentive to blend ethanol with gasoline — and instead use the funds to build the infrastructure that would allow renewable fuels to compete with oil on a level playing field. By installing 200,000 ethanol pumps at gas stations across the country and putting 120 million flexible-fuel vehicles on the road, our plan would create an open market where ethanol could compete with gasoline without government support.
To clarify your editorial, Growth Energy proposes phasing out the ethanol tax credit once the market is opened — and domestic ethanol has the level playing field to compete with oil.
Given a chance, domestic ethanol can strengthen our national security, reduce our carbon emissions and create more jobs by keeping American money invested in our own economy instead of sending it overseas.
Wesley K. Clark
Washington...
