Ethanol Bust Adds to U.S. Fuel Glut and Losses Across Corn Belt
- More capacity than demand after decade of rising fuel mandates
- New era of cheap oil kills growth prospects as ADM seeks exit
WALTONVILLE, IL - JULY 16: Drought-damaged corn growns on the farm of Jerry Kitowski on July 16, 2012 in Waltonville, Illinois. The Illinois Farm Bureau says the state is experiencing the sixth driest year on record. Illinois is the nation's second largest producer of corn behind Iowa.
Photographer: Scott Olson/Getty ImagesThe 400-or-so residents of Waltonville, Illinois, have been waiting almost a decade to cash in on the U.S. ethanol boom. Now, that day may never come as a prolonged fuel glut alters the economics of corn for communities across the Midwest.
Waltonville had set aside 169 acres -- a fifth of the town’s land area -- for a distillery to make 132 million gallons a year of the corn-based fuel additive. At the time, government mandates were expanding use of ethanol in gasoline, and the project promised a boost to the local economy, including a new road. Plant builder Ethanex Energy Inc. planned to buy grain from nearby farms and ship ethanol via rail lines running between the Post Office and two churches.