Web exclusive posted March 2, 2009, at 3:21 p.m. CST

The Renewable Fuels Association has published multiple new reports, including its 2009 Ethanol Industry Outlook, a report which outlined the state of the U.S. ethanol industry and the challenges and opportunities the industry faces in 2009 and beyond. The report included production statistics, including charts, maps and lists of current and next-generation ethanol plants.

According to the report, the challenges the industry faces include increasing the sale of higher ethanol blends beyond E10, including mid-level blends and E85, and also debunking criticisms of ethanol, including land use change, the food versus fuel debate, and the use of water in ethanol production.

Regarding land use change, the RFA has also released a report entitled "Land Use Effects of U.S. Corn-Based Ethanol" written by Thomas L. Darlington of Air Improvement Resource Inc., which provides an independent estimate of the land-use effects of corn used for ethanol based on a projection of global land use made by Informa Economics Inc., an agribusiness economics consulting firm.

The 2009 outlook report says opportunities for the industry include promoting the greenhouse gas reduction benefits of ethanol, as well as promoting improved efficiencies at existing ethanol plants, new process technologies, and the commercialization of cellulosic conversion technologies.

The report lists cellulosic ethanol projects under development and construction in the U.S., including projects involving the following companies:

• Abengoa Bioenergy SA
• AE Biofuels Inc.
• Bluefire Ethanol Fuels Inc.
• California Ethanol & Power LLC
• Coskata Inc.
• DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol LLC
• Ecofin LLC (Alltech Inc.)
• Flambeau River Biofuels LLC
• ICM Inc.
• KL Energy Corp.
• Lignol Energy Corp.
• Mascoma Corp.
• NewPage Corp.
• New Planet Energy
• Pacific Ethanol Inc.
• Poet LLC
• Range Fuels Inc.
• Verenium Corp.
• ZeaChem Inc.

In addition, the RFA released a report titled "Contribution of the Ethanol Industry to the Economy of the United States" by John M. Urbanchuk, director of LECG LLC, which noted that the net benefit of the ethanol industry to the federal government, after ethanol-related tax credits, was more than $7 billion in 2008, providing a 2.5 to 1 return on every dollar invested.

The report also noted the following results of spending by the ethanol industry on the U.S. economy in 2008:

• $1.4 billion in research and development
• $65.6 billion contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
• 494,000 jobs in all sectors of the economy
• $11.9 billion in tax revenue for the federal government
• $9 billion in tax revenue for state and local governments