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Plant could be a plus for local area, help U.S. energy future
January 10, 2007
Klamath Falls Herald and News Editorial
Whether ethanol production will actually turn into a big economic plus for the Klamath Basin isn't known yet, but the prospect is encouraging. Klamath Falls is getting serious scrutiny for a $150 million plant because of Klamath Falls' closeness to the California market.
The plant, if built, would provide 45 to 50 jobs, according to E85, the company from Washington State that wants to build it. The company's name comes from the mixture of 85 percent ethanol, which is manufactured from fermented grain, and the 15 percent gasoline that is commonly used to produce ethanol. Corn would be shipped from the Midwest to Klamath Falls.
Ethanol needs to be processed closer to the market than other fuels, such as gasoline, because ethanol and pipelines aren't friendly to each other. Ethanol is more likely to absorb impurities, and this and other problems would probably mean that shipping by pipeline would require building a pipeline specifically for ethanol, which would be too expensive.
Not only is Klamath Falls close to the California market, it's also on main rail lines and close to the major power grid for the West Coast. And it has land available near the airport for the plant. The area has a lot going for it.
E85 is on an aggressive building program for ethanol plants, with 10 on the drawing board.
A Dec. 29 article on the Web site of the Fayetteville Observer dealing with a $200 million plant planned in North Carolina said that the funds for that plant were coming through E85's affiliation with Sterling Infotech Group, a multinational corporation based in India.
Market improving
Ethanol is becoming increasingly feasible because the federal government provides a tax exemption of up to 51 cents a gallon (depending on the amount of ethanol blended into the fuel), automobile manufacturers are building more cars that burn it and it helps makes the United States depend less on foreign oil.
Ethanol is also at the center of a debate over whether it should be considered a renewable energy source because of the amount of energy it takes to produce. There are arguments on both sides of that issue, and while it's probably fair to say that the rush to produce ethanol wouldn't exist without tax incentives, it's also fair to say that it would be a major benefit to the United States to reduce its need for oil from the Middle East and other unstable and unfriendly regions.
Brazil might show the way. That country has turned to sugar cane for ethanol production and created a genuine competitor for conventional gasoline. That competition, along with the availability of cars that can run on either ethanol or gas, lets Brazilians with such cars choose whichever fuel is cheaper - gas or ethanol.
That point may yet be a long time in the future for the United States, but the public interest is served by encouraging a variety of approaches to alternate sources of fuel. Ethanol should be one of them. If Klamath is selected as a plant site at the end of E85's 120-day review period, everyone should benefit.
Editorial board
Pat Bushey wrote today's
editorial, which represents the view of the Herald and News editorial
board.
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