Statewide Ethanol Use Increased 20 Percent Last Year

Wisconsin Ag Connection
May 12, 2006

It appears that consumer demand for ethanol blended gasoline is starting to pick up. This week, the Wisconsin Department of Administration and the governor's office have released a report showing that ethanol use throughout the state has increased 20 percent in the last year--and that state government is leading the way in adopting ethanol-based fuels.

Governor Jim Doyle says Wisconsin is demonstrating to the nation that we can diversify our fuel supply by relying more on the Midwest and less on the Mid East.

"With gasoline prices topping $3 per gallon, we must loosen the stronghold Big Oil has on businesses and families, and we can do that while creating jobs and strengthening our economy with ethanol produced right here in Wisconsin," Doyle said.

For the state as a whole, ethanol use in 2005 set a new record of nearly 123 million gallons, and sales of conventional gasoline containing a 10 percent blend of ethanol jumped by more than 78 percent in 2005.

Meanwhile, state government has also taken a leadership role in the use of ethanol-based fuels. This year 96 percent of the nearly 1.5 million gallons of motor fuel state government has contracted to buy will contain ethanol.

The report also shows that sales of E-85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent conventional gasoline, experienced remarkable growth increasing by almost 600 percent compared to last year as more gasoline stations begin to carry an E-85 blend.

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