ANALYZING INDUSTRIAL EXPANSION: A REVIEW OF THE POTENTIAL FOR SUSTAINED ETHANOL PRODUCTION IN PENNSYLVANIA
Open Access
- Author:
- McGunegle, Steven Berle
- Graduate Program:
- Geography
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- None
- Committee Members:
- Dr Amy Glasmeier, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Amy K Glasmeier, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Seth Adam Blumsack, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Jonathan P Mathews, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor - Keywords:
- Economic Development
Ethanol Production
Industrial Location Theory - Abstract:
- Rapid expansion of ethanol production in the United States is reshaping the industry. From 1999–2006, production increased an average of 29% annually. According to the Renewable Fuels Association, ethanol production will double again in the next five years. Corn is the primary feedstock for ethanol production in the United States. In the past, the Midwestern location of corn production dictated the co-location of ethanol plants. The effort by different states to meet the federal renewable fuels standard (RFS) is changing the regional distribution of ethanol plants. Expansion of ethanol production is now occurring in corn-deficient regions, like Pennsylvania. The beginnings of an ethanol industry in Pennsylvania emerged in 2008 as BioEnergy LLC began to construct the first plant, which was located in Clearfield, PA. Understanding this expansion and evaluating the location decision requires answers to two basic questions (1) “why here”; and (2) ”can this location be competitive?” In this thesis, I conducted a critical case study and applied industrial location theory to answer these questions. This involved a direct price comparison of the most important input factors to show which locations have a cost advantage. Analysis of the feedstock, energy and utility costs demonstrated that on a like-fuel basis, a plant in Pennsylvania is not competitive with an identical plant in Iowa, for example. However, if a plant in Pennsylvania uses coal or waste coal as a fuel, then it can compete with a natural gas-fueled plant in Iowa. Ethanol production in Pennsylvania, to be competitive with production in Iowa, must rely on the use of coal. The outlook for this production is questionable based on pending and future federal legislation that will affect both national and state energy and environmental policy.