Ethanol Industry

E85 Stations in Kansas

Detailed information on ethanol plants and projects in Kansas

Map of Ethanol Plant Activity in Kansas (Department of Commerce)

Fast Facts

• A typical ethanol plant may produce 100 million gallons a year, employ 50 people and have a payroll nearing $4 million.
   

• There are 12 operating ethanol plants in Kansas with a capacity of 460 million gallons a year.
   

• Kansas is expected to produce up to 800 million gallons by mid-2008.
   

• For every barrel of ethanol produced, 1.2 barrels of petroleum are displaced at the refinery.
   

• The presence of ethanol causes gasoline prices to be 0.27% lower than would occur without ethanol. Thus, the total cost savings to the consumer is approximately $270 million per year.
   

• There are 28 E85 fueling stations in Kansas.
   

• 640 permanent jobs have been created in the ethanol plants of Kansas.
   

• A 100 million gallon ethanol plant results in:
   - $150 million in capitol construction investment
   - $70 million to the economy during construction
   - $233 million expansion of the local economic base year year
   - 45 direct jobs plus 101 indirect jobs in the area
   - grain prices raised by some $.10 a bushel
   - tax revenues of $3.2 million per year
   

• Ethanol plant jobs are at an annual salary of $49,000, well above the average of $34,000.
   

• A 100 million gallon ethanol plant uses 1,200 acre feet of water a year. That's enough to irrigate 800 acres of corn in western Kansas.
   

• One gallon of ethanol uses 3-4 gallons of water to produce.
   

• 1,851 gallons of water are used to refine one barrel of crude oil. (About 55 gallons in a barrel)
   

• A 100 million gallon ethanol plant might use 400 million gallons of water a year. That is comparable to 30,000 dairy cows, six average feedlots, or a town of 8,000 people.
   

• One bushel of corn produces 2.8 gallons of ethanol.

*Facts from the Kansas Department of Agriculture as of January 2008.