Potential for a Sugar Beet Ethanol Industry in Washington State: Report to the State Department of Agriculture
Ethanol Production cost $2.12 / gallon = $64 / barrel of oil
We assume a sugar beet conversion rate of 24 Gallons of ethanol per ton of sugar beets (FAPRI 2006)
Annual yield for sugar beets is assumed to be 40 tons per acre
USA total farm land = 800 million acres
cultivated farm land = 280 million acres
Idle farm land = 520 million acres
520 million acres * 40 tons per acre * 24 Gallons of ethanol per ton of sugar beets = 500 billion gallons
ETHANOL
USA may produce 500 000 000 000 gallons of SUGAR BEETS ethanol in 1 year only on the idling farm land
It is almost twice more then the current USA gasoline consumption
GASOLINE
USA uses ~ 20 million barrels of oil a day ;
1 barrel of oil makes about 20 gallons of gasoline ;
In 1 year USA consumes:
365days*20gallons*20 000 000 barrels =
146 000 000 000 gallons of gasoline in 1 year
ETHANOL = 66% of GASOLINE
ethanol has only 66% of gasoline energy potential so:
146 000 000 000 gallons of gasoline = 220 000 000 000 gallons of sugar beet ethanol
FARM LAND IN USA:
