Good news in the old neighborhood. The Missouri House is holding hearings to see if Missouri’s 10% ethanol requirement needs to be repealed, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The study compared Missouri’s average gasoline price in 2007 to the average price of E-10. In that year, the difference was about 8 cents per gallon. The study also projects 10 years ahead, using estimates from the Energy Information Administration.

Critics say ethanol’s lower fuel efficiency wipes out any price benefits.

Fred tours the Lincolnway Energy ethanol plant
Creative Commons License photo credit: freddthompson

In the same article, the Post-Dispatch notes:

The Legislature also is considering requiring all diesel sold in the state to contain a 5 percent blend of biodiesel. That bill, which has passed the Senate, will be heard next week by the same House panel that considered the ethanol bill.

It’s almost as if they aren’t paying attention. If government force has to be employed in order to use biodiesel, that axiomatically means consumer costs are going to go up.