Nebraska Teams with ENERGY STAR®; Sets New Record for Ethanol Production
Ethanol production now exceeds state gasoline consumption.
October 2007
The Nebraska Energy Office has approved guidelines for purchase of ENERGY STAR®-rated products under its energy loan program, and the Nebraska Ethanol Board announces record ethanol production.
Energy Office Completes Review of Dollar and Energy Saving Loans Program
In July 2005, the Nebraska Energy Office received a U.S. Department of Energy grant to increase the use of ENERGY STAR products by promoting, marketing, and coordinating the national ENERGY STAR campaign with the agency's Dollar and Energy Saving Loans.
The work to update standards for financing energy efficiency improvements to the ENERGY STAR level was completed by the end of 2006, and resulted in a top-to-bottom review of the standards and eligibility of products financed with Dollar and Energy Saving Loans. A summary of the changes appeared in a recent Nebraska Energy Quarterly.
After more than 16 years of operation, the agency and its lending partners have issued 23,689 loans that have financed $190.3 million in energy efficiency improvements.
Ethanol Production Sets Record
Earlier this year, a U.S. BioEnergy ethanol plant opened in Ord. It will have an annual ethanol production capacity of 45 million gallons, which brings production capacity above 1 billion gallons per year.
"With 16 ethanol plants producing a billion gallons a year, Nebraska is taking its place as a leader in energy independence and a leader in economic growth which benefits the whole state."
-Todd Sneller, administrator, Nebraska Ethanol Board
The state's ethanol production now surpasses annual gasoline consumption, which was 815.6 million gallons of gasoline last year, according to the Nebraska Corn Board. However, board statistics show that Nebraska drivers consumed only 44 million gallons in the state. The rest was exported, much of it to the West Coast.
Source: E85 FYI Newsletter.
See more Nebraska project descriptions published in Conservation Update.
Read recent Nebraska news stories about state involvement in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects published on the EERE Web site.