Ethanol Facts

Ethanol & Gasoline

Ethanol is a key gasoline additive

• Adding renewable ethanol into the fuel supply provides a lower-cost oxygenate that helps engines run cleaner and with more power.
• Available at a lower cost than gasoline, it provides fuel blenders a way to save money so retailers can charge less at the pump.
• No other alternative for ethanol exists in today's marketplace.

Energy Security

• The U.S. imports 45% of its petroleum needs today. This number is down significantly since the rise of the ethanol industry.
• In 2011, thanks in part to ethanol, the U.S. needed to import 485 million fewer barrels of oil, the equivalent of 13% of total oil imports.
• The value of the crude oil displaced by ethanol amounted to $49.7 billion in 2011.

Rural Economy

Ethanol supports local jobs and helps the U.S. economy

• In 2011, the U.S. ethanol industry helped support more than 400,000 jobs.
• Ethanol contributed $42.4 billion to the Gross Domestic Product and added $30 billion to household income.
• This generated more than $8 billion in tax revenue for federal, state and local governments.

Lower Emissions

In reducing emissions, ethanol outperforms gasoline

• Global ethanol production and use is estimated to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 100 million metric tons in 2012, according to energy experts.
• This is the equivalent of taking 20.2 million vehicles off the road.

Real Fuel Freedom

Ethanol blends give drivers a real and renewable fuel choice

• With E10, E15 and E85, consumers at the pump can have a choice in what to put in their gas tanks.
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved E15 (15% ethanol blend) for 2001 and newer cars and trucks.
• E15 is one of the most tested fuel blends in history.

Food & Fuel

U.S. farmers grow more than enough corn for all uses

• Each year, a supply of corn is held over to be used the following year - providing 1.2 billion more bushels for this year from the 2011 corn supply.
• U.S. ethanol production uses just 3% of the global grain supply.