LEIPSIC, Ohio — In the fight against climate change and greenhouse gases, there may be an alternative to electric cars.
Ethanol is an alcohol produced from corn and 10% of it is already being added to gasoline at the pump. But 15% ethanol gas is available at many locations and it's perfectly fine to use for any vehicle made after 2001.
It's about 7 cents cheaper per gallon.
Ohio is one of the top corn producers in the country and is the seventh-largest supplier of the biofuel to the U.S. 40% of the over 580 million bushels produced is supplying one of seven ethanol plants across the state.
The demand for corn has also kept prices high for a bushel.
WTOL 11 got a peek behind the curtain at a POET bioprocessing plant in Leipsic, Ohio. Plants are built within 50 miles of most farms in Ohio, making it convenient to get the product in for processing.
Ken Miceli, the plant's general manager, said their ethanol goes to the Toledo and Detroit markets.
“Plant-based Ohio ethanol burns cleaner and reduces greenhouse gas emissions," Miceli said. "I think it’s part of the answer for decarbonization in the country and sustainability, and having plant-based bioethanol is one way you get there because it’s a renewable fuel."
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