Can the U.S. Congressional Ethanol Mandate be Met?
Published by The Brattle Group, Inc.
The United States’ transportation energy infrastructure is at an important crossroads. The 2007 mandate by Congress to migrate fuel consumption from traditional gasoline to biofuel requires that significant steps be taken to update the automotive fleet and the way we produce and distribute fuel. However, serious questions remain on both the demand side and supply side of the equation: can we produce and consume as much ethanol as Congress has mandated? And if we can, will producers be able to sell ethanol profitably without government subsidies? This paper discusses potential demand side and supply side impediments in meeting the mandate, and analyzes the prospects for profitably producing ethanol in the next decade.
