WASHINGTON, April 12 (UPI) -- U.S. governors' support for increased output of ethanol as a fuel additive raises the possibility of a revival of stalled energy legislation in Congress.
Governors of 33 states have formed an Ethanol Coalition that seeks to expand a federal mandate for ethanol use. The group supports production of up to 8 billion gallons of the additive a year by 2012 and providing incentives to make at least 10 percent of that from a new process that can produce the fuel from farm wastes, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
Ethanol, when blended into gasoline, stretches the fuel's supply and makes it burn more cleanly. The nation's ethanol producers currently make about 3.7 billion gallons a year, 95 percent of it from corn, the Journal said.
The oil industry and lawmakers from oil states plan to fight broader ethanol use, the report said. Most want Congress to stick to a 5 billion gallon ethanol mandate agreed on last year before work on the energy bill stalled.
