David Swenson, research scientist, was interviewed for an April 28 Iowa City Press-Citizen story, "Johnson County landowners consider trading ethanol crop for fields of solar in $4.7M project."
David Swenson, an Iowa State University economist, told the Press-Citizen on Tuesday that without federal or state governments artificially inflating demand for ethanol, the product might be nearing its end. Even before the pandemic, increased fuel efficiency in cars, more Americans choosing not to own a motor vehicle, and the emergence of lower-cost electrical vehicles all translated, he said, to less gasoline consumed and less demand for additives like ethanol.
"From what I can tell, we may have reached peak motor fuel demand in the United States," Swenson said. "One would expect no growth in the ethanol as a motor fuel. And the industry is worried."