(Lincoln Journal Star) -- Due in part to oil prices and national energy policy, the market penetration of ethanol In Nebraska recently reached an all-time high of almost 90 percent. Now turmoil in the ethanol industry has cast doubt on ethanol marketers' ability to keep the dime advantage they have held at the pump in Nebraska elsewhere for most of the past five years. Gas prices continue to plummet. In its daily report delivered Wednesday, AAA says the Nebraska statewide average sits at $1.81 for a gallon of regular, down from $3.13 a year ago. As of last week, regular unleaded gasoline was the cheaper option at the seven BP stores owned locally by Salem Oil Co. A Journal Star check of other Lincoln service stations gave the price advantage to regular unleaded in eight of 14 cases, typically $1.69 versus $1.79. This suggests that ethanol, despite its connection to Nebraska agriculture, doesn't have nearly the brand loyalty of, say, Husker sweatshirts. But despite recent developments at the pump in Lincoln and elsewhere, Todd Sneller of the Nebraska Ethanol Board said the ethanol industry will stay afloat because ethanol sales nationally are anchored in a federal renewable fuels standard (usage requirement) and clean air initiatives in California and numerous other places. The federal mandate is scheduled to get bigger over the next few years.
