Two more of the country’s ethanol plants are going offline amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor says that underscores the industry’s need for help.
“We just went through the third week in a row that ethanol production hit a record-breaking low, even as stockpiles hit a new record-breaking high,” Skor said. “The evaporation of fuel demand due to COVID-19 has been a knock-out blow to biofuel plants across the heartland, who were already fighting an uphill battle against trade barriers, regulatory threats, and a flood of foreign oil.”
Skor added while half the industry is already offline, two more ADM plants, one in Iowa and the other in Nebraska, have been added to the growing list of plants impacted.
“Ethanol producers represent the heart of the rural economy, and when they’re forced offline, the ripple effect can be felt across the agricultural supply chain, including farmers who are without a market for their crops, as well as meatpackers and ranchers who rely on local ethanol plants for animal feed and carbon dioxide,” she said. “With plans to support the oil and gas industries already in place, it’s vital that policymakers give the same consideration to biofuel workers and farmers equally impacted by the disruptions to the motor fuel market.”
