Study: Ethanol Saves Midwesterners Money

According to a new study, Midwestern drivers saved $1.69 per gallon of fuel last year because of domestic ethanol production and use. The study concluded that nationally consumers saved a $1.09 per gallon.

The study shows that ethanol reduced the average American household’s spending on gasoline by more than $1,200 in 2011. The $1.09-per-gallon national impact is up from 89 cents per gallon in 2010, a change the researchers attribute to increased ethanol production and higher crude-oil prices as well as a bigger price difference between ethanol and gasoline.

The average price for a barrel of crude oil increased to $95 in 2011, up from $80 in 2010. The study determined that drivers would have paid an average of about $4.60 per gallon last year without the inclusion of 13 billion gallons of ethanol.

“This study clearly underscores that the current pain at the pump would be far worse without ethanol,” said Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association.