Colorado Corn

Congress voted last night to pass the one-year extension of the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit, VEETC, also known as the ethanol blender’s credit. The extension was supported by Colorado Corn and was one of the National Corn Growers Association’s highest priorities for 2010.

Failing to renew VEETC would potentially have harmed the nation’s rural economy and provided a setback to the ethanol industry. It could have resulted in a significant decline in domestic ethanol production, leading to closure of one-third of the existing ethanol plants and the loss of more than 100,000 jobs in rural communities across the country.

 “The tax credit serves a valuable purpose”, says Mark Sponsler, Executive Director of Colorado Corn. “It helps ensure that consumers have choices at the pump, which is necessary if we, as a nation, hope to wean ourselves away from foreign oil. Market access is critical, and the blender’s credit helps provide that access. American’s want to help make a difference; the ability to choose a home-grown alternative energy source like ethanol is a great way to start.”

The blender’s credit of 45 cents per gallon is primarily received by oil companies and fuel blenders, designed to incentivize fuel distributors to accommodate renewable fuels like ethanol in a marketplace dominated by petroleum.