ACE’s Carbon Intensity Calculator showcases ethanol’s ability to reach net-zero and net-negative GHGs

In South Dakota, The American Coalition for Ethanol introduced a new carbon intensity (CI) calculator to help its members understand the carbon intensity (CI) of their farms and ethanol operations along with a simplified version of the tool to raise awareness about factors impacting the CI of ethanol. 

Combined, these tools help illustrate corn ethanol’s ability to attain net-zero and net-negative greenhouse gas emissions.

The topic of carbon intensity can generate confusion because various regulatory bodies (EPA, CARB, etc.) apply different approaches to derive carbon scores. What’s more, some regulatory bodies use outdated lifecycle factors to overstate ethanol’s CI, causing understandable apprehension from producers about new clean fuel policies. ACE’s detailed calculator allows users to break through this confusion by using their own corn farming and ethanol production information to estimate a carbon score and compare it to the Argonne National Laboratory’s GREET model and average scores used by the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard.