ETHANOL RECORD SET IN 2005

34 new plants underway

The U.S. ethanol industry set production records in 2005, refining just under 4 billion gallons and averaging nearly 255,000 gallons a day, according to U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) data released this week by the Renewable Fuels Assn. (RFA) December, 2005 was a stand-out month when production shot from 5,000 barrels per day to over 280,000 barrels, as demand hit 310,000 barrels per day. Currently 95 U.S. ethanol plants have combined production capacity of more than 4.3 billion gallons per year. RFA says there are 34 new plants and nine expansions currently under construction that will increase capacity by more than 2.1 billion gallons.