Alcohol fuels

Technical Report · Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1990

OSTI ID:6391449

Ethanol is an alcohol made from grain that can be blended with gasoline to extend petroleum supplies and to increase gasoline octane levels. Congressional proposals to encourage greater use of alternative fuels could increase the demand for ethanol. This report evaluates the growth potential of the ethanol industry to meet future demand increases and the impacts increased production would have on American agriculture and the federal budget. It is found that ethanol production could double or triple in the next eight years, and that American farmers could provide the corn for this production increase. While corn growers would benefit, other agricultural segments would not; soybean producers, for example could suffer for increased corn oil production (an ethanol byproduct) and cattle ranchers would be faced with higher feed costs because of higher corn prices. Poultry farmers might benefit from lower priced feed. Overall, net farm cash income should increase, and consumers would see slightly higher food prices. Federal budget impacts would include a reduction in federal farm program outlays by an annual average of between $930 million (for double current production of ethanol) to $1.421 billion (for triple production) during the eight-year growth period. However, due to an partial tax exemption for ethanol blended fuels, federal fuel tax revenues could decrease by between $442 million and $813 million.

• Research Organization: General Accounting Office, Washington, DC (USA). Resources, Community and Economic Development Div.
• OSTI ID: 6391449
• Report Number(s): GAO/RCED-90-156
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
ALCOHOL FUELS
PRODUCTION
ETHANOL
MIXTURES
GASOLINE
PETROLEUM
FUEL SUBSTITUTION
CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES
COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS
ECONOMIC IMPACT
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
OCTANE
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
TAX LAWS
ALCOHOLS
ALKANES
DISPERSIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
LAWS
LIQUID FUELS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
SYNTHETIC FUELS
093000* - Biomass Fuels- Economic
Industrial
& Business Aspects- (1990-)
097000 - Biomass Fuels- Legislation & Regulations- (1990-)
320301 - Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization- Industrial & Agricultural Processes- Energy Sources
090800 - Biomass Fuels- Production- (1990-)