Biodiesel Resource

By Greg Davids and Dallas C. Sams

(Web Editor's Note: The Minnesota State House voted 100-32 May 5, 2005 to double the state ethanol mandate, under certain conditions. The following is from an editoral published around this time in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.)

"America needs to end our unhealthy addiction to foreign oil. Utilizing common sense, homegrown renewable fuels are good for our national security, our environment and our economy."

Gov. Tim Pawlenty used these words to announce his initiative to double the amount of ethanol used in Minnesota. We couldn't agree more, which is why we authored this initiative in the Minnesota Legislature — Democrat and Republican, working together to ensure that Minnesota continues to lead the nation in the production and use of renewable fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel.

Minnesota is rich in renewable energy resources. Our state uses more ethanol than any other state in the nation, accounting for just over 10 percent of the gas sold in the state. In addition, Minnesota will implement the first-in-the-nation biodiesel mandate next summer, ensuring that 2 percent of the diesel used here will contain renewable diesel fuel. In addition to these renewable transportation fuels, Minnesota is home to significant wind energy resources. According to the Commerce Department, Minnesota gets approximately 10 percent of its electricity from renewable resources, and is on track to double this amount by 2015. Most of this new renewable energy will come from harnessing Minnesota's wind resource.

When he announced the ethanol initiative, the governor said he wanted to make Minnesota the renewable energy capital of the United States. We wholeheartedly agree. This initiative will benefit Minnesota, but more importantly, it will benefit our nation, by reducing our reliance on imported oil.

The United States imports more than 60 percent of the petroleum it uses — more than at any time in our nation's history — and that figure continues to rise as domestic production falls. There's good news on the horizon, however.

Contrary to popular but outdated information, our efforts to increase our use of renewable transportation fuels will reduce our use of petroleum. Recent analyses conducted by scientists at the prestigious Argonne National Laboratory at the University of Chicago have determined that making ethanol produces 67 percent more energy than it takes to make — a strikingly positive "net energy balance." In contrast, the production of gasoline has a negative net energy balance of about 20 percent — that is, there is an energy cost of about 20 percent in the production of gasoline. Additionally, we learned at a recent hearing on the governor's initiative that at least seven states are looking to follow Minnesota's lead on ethanol. These efforts and others will begin to help the United States regain some measure of energy independence.

For these and other reasons, we are joining the governor in his initiative to double the amount of ethanol used in Minnesota. We would prefer to meet that goal without a mandate. If we can't, then the current 10 percent mandate would double in 2012, contingent on our receiving approval for use of the new fuel (E20 — 20 percent ethanol, 80 percent gasoline) from the federal government.

Much has been made of how this new fuel might affect the operation of car engines – but these concerns are a smoke screen. As part of the federal approval process for E20, we will have to demonstrate conclusive evidence that the fuel doesn't negatively affect vehicles engines, or other parts of the fuel system. When E20 is offered for sale in Minnesota, we will have shown that it can and will be used safely in our cars, minivans and other vehicles.

Minnesotans can and should be proud of our efforts to produce and use renewable resources like ethanol. If the Minnesota Legislature passes the governor's ethanol initiative, we will indeed make Minnesota the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy.

Davids, R-Preston, represents District 31B in the Minnesota House. Sams, DFL-Staples, is state senator from District 11.