Renewable Energy Technology Assessments - Kauai Island Utility ...

Kaua’i Island Utility Cooperative
Renewable Energy Technology Assessments
3.0 Renewable Energy Technology
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Figure 3-6. Ethanol Production Facility in Wisconsin (Source: Badger State
Ethanol LLC).
Due to federal legislation, increased demand, and other market drivers, ethanol
production has increased dramatically over the last two decades. Production has increased
from 50 million gallons in 1980, to 2.81 billion in 2003. 13 Correspondingly, ethanol
production facilities are being constructed all across the United States, with most new
facilities having a production capacity over 50 million gallons per year. As of 2004,
there are 78 ethanol production facilities operating in the United States, and ten new
facilities under construction. 14
Applications
Since ethanol can be used in most spark ignition engines with little to no engine
modifications, ethanol use can directly displace gasoline use. Ethanol is already
commonly used as a low percentage blend in automobiles; however, recent efforts from
the ethanol industry are pushing to market higher percentage ethanol blends such as E85,
which contains ethanol as 85 percent of the total fuel volume. In general, ethanol is
suitable for any application in which gasoline is used. While this primarily pertains to the
transportation sector, there are a variety of power production applications in which
ethanol would be a suitable replacement for gasoline or natural gas.
13
Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration
14
American Coalition for Ethanol. (Online) Available at http://www.ethanol.org/production.html. Accessed
3 August 2004.
21 March 2005 3-23 Black & Veatch