EIA says ethanol blend wall reached; first-gen ethanol boom over

In Washington, the U.S. Energy Information Administration says the U.S. has reached the ceiling of 14.2 billion gallons of annual ethanol production capacity, and the ethanol boom is essentially finished. There are more than 200 operational ethanol plants in the U.S. producing 14.2 billion to 14.7 billion gallons per year.

Currently, the only major ethanol plant expansion is occurring at Granite Falls Energy’s plant in Granite Falls, Minnesota. The project will add 10 million gallons of ethanol production capacity. In the U.S., 15 ethanol plants are currently under construction, and all are second-generation production.