Scott Signs Ethanol Requirement Repeal

June 1, 2013

Gov. Rick Scott on Friday signed a bill repealing a state law that requires most gasoline sold in Florida to include nearly 10 percent ethanol. The repeal of the 2008 Florida Renewable Fuel Standard Act could be mostly symbolic because of federal ethanol mandates.

But Scott received more than 1,000 emails on the bill, with opponents saying it could hurt the state’s efforts to attract the biofuel industry and supporters saying ethanol damages engines.

Comments

10 Responses to “Scott Signs Ethanol Requirement Repeal”

  1. David Huie Green on June 3rd, 2013 6:21 pm

    REGARDING:
    “My issue is it should have been optional and cheaper than regular gas . I don’t think they should get rid of it all together, but it should be a cheaper option”

    For it to be cheaper, ethanol should be half the price per gallon as gasoline since it has about half the energy content per gallon.

    There are other reasons to use ethanol blend in gasoline, but cheaper is not one of them.

    (By the way, I was in Rio back in the early eighties and alcohol was sold straight at the pump, about sixty nine cents per gallon back then, using sugar cane as the feedstock for making the rum they burned. It smelled nice when burned. Or at least I thought so and I’m a teetotaler,)

  2. SHunter on June 2nd, 2013 1:58 pm

    I have a lawn mower in the shop right now due to ethanol. We should always have choices. Some engines are ok with biofuel and we or our kids are going to eventually have to do something to conserve.

  3. Charlie Peters on June 2nd, 2013 11:00 am

    GMO corn fuel ethanol stinks

  4. jeeperman on June 2nd, 2013 8:54 am

    The Florida bill mandating ethanol or not mandating it was redundant as the federal rule will prevail. Every station was allowed to sell ethanol free gas if they so desired.
    Theoretically the sales could only be for non-highway uses.
    Now that is no longer the rule, well in July or whenever this end-of-mandate goes into effect.
    It will now be up to the retailer to decide if there is enough in potential sales to spend the dollars to install another tank which would be a minimum if they were to convert an existing pump. Or if they quite selling another grade in order to use an existing tank.

    The only ones opposed to this are related to “big sugar” in south Florida.

  5. Mike on June 2nd, 2013 6:27 am

    I’d like to ask Lawrence P; Where are all these ethanol plants and jobs located in Fla. you speak of?

  6. Mike on June 2nd, 2013 6:24 am

    Thank Goodness for Gov. Scott and Fl. Lawmakers for doing the right thing. Ethanol has been the cause of the demise of many marine and lawn care engines. If Ethanol production and use were truly cost effective, the government would not have to subsidize such production.

  7. huh on June 1st, 2013 7:31 pm

    My issue is it should have been optional and cheaper than regular gas . I dont think they should get rid of it all together, but it should be a cheaper option

  8. Lawrence P on June 1st, 2013 6:12 pm

    What will become of the ethanol plants (and jobs at) built in Florida to keep Florida self sufficient rather than trucking ethanol in?

  9. MicheleG on June 1st, 2013 9:50 am

    I will actually applaude him for this. Ethanol is horrible on engines. We attended a seminar at Nissan about how ethanol tears up an engine. YEA!!

  10. Jane on June 1st, 2013 5:16 am

    Ethanol damages lawn equipment and antique cars. Many of us drive quite a distance to get ethanol free gas to keep our lawn equipment from being damaged. We should all have a choice!