Senate-passed energy bill draws mixed reactions.(Brief Article)

Chemical Market Reporter, May, 2002 by Hess, Glenn

ETHANOL PRODUCERS are calling Senate-passed energy legislation "a major victory" for the renewable fuels industry, while petroleum refiners label the measure "a great disappointment." The Senate bill, passed by a vote of 88-11 in late April, would triple the amount of ethanol used in cleaner-burning gasoline over the next decade, while phasing out the use of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) as an oxygenate within four years.

A renewable fuels standard in the legislation would require use of 2.3 billion gallons of ethanol by 2004 and 5 billion gallons by 2012. Last year, the US consumed about 1.7 billion gallons of ethanol, mostly in the Midwest. Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) president Bob Dinneen says the bill is a "true milestone" that sets...

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