無論如何，2006年是破紀錄的一年。乙醇工業(yè)打破了生產(chǎn)、產(chǎn)能、需求、銷售、建設(shè)和公眾意識。的確，2006年一年來，公眾對美國“石油上癮”的認識是“開拓新視野”有助于為可再生燃料的未來形成一個新的、更樂觀的前景。乙醇工業(yè)和可再生燃料協(xié)會已經(jīng)走了多遠的證據(jù)。4月份，當(dāng)喬治?布什總統(tǒng)在RFA可再生能源峰會上發(fā)表講話時，他明確指出：“乙醇對整個國家都有好處……我們應(yīng)該感謝美國人民推廣其他方式來駕駛他們的汽車，從而使我們減少對外國石油來源的依賴。我們應(yīng)該感謝美國人民在使用技術(shù)方面的積極性，以便我們能夠從碳氫化合物協(xié)會。這正是我們要做的。”總統(tǒng)在RFA的演講是該行業(yè)的一個開創(chuàng)性事件歷史。但這次活動也以美國總統(tǒng)美國石油學(xué)會，紅卡瓦尼，誰討論了石油工業(yè)越來越接受乙醇作為高辛烷值混合組分汽油，注意到石油工業(yè)現(xiàn)在可以設(shè)想一個時間，當(dāng)乙醇混合到全國銷售的一加侖汽油！事實上，華盛頓和咖啡店從大街到華爾街的討論已經(jīng)不再乙醇是否有意義，但它能生產(chǎn)多少和多久。事實上這無疑為美國乙醇工業(yè)開辟了一個新的領(lǐng)域。新的地平線同時令人驚奇和興奮，但也具有挑戰(zhàn)性和恐怖性。增長的風(fēng)險和責(zé)任至少和獎勵一樣大。今年的行業(yè)展望列舉了過去一年的成功，但也為未來的挑戰(zhàn)和機遇提供了重要的背景幾個月前，美國乙醇工業(yè)正朝著更加可持續(xù)的方向前進能源的未來還在繼續(xù)。

By any measure, 2006 was a record-breaking year. The ethanol industry broke all-time records for production, capacity, demand, sales, construction and public awareness. Indeed, 2006 was certainly a year of “Building New Horizons” as the public’s recognition of America’s “addiction to oil” helped to shape a new and more optimistic vision for the future of renewable fuels.  Evidence of just how far the ethanol industry and the Renewable Fuels Association have come was clear in April when President George Bush addressed the RFA’s Renewable Fuels Summit and noted:  “Ethanol is good for the whole country… We owe it to the American people to be promoting alternative ways to drive their cars so as to make us less dependent on foreign sources of oil. We owe it to the American people to be aggressive in the use of technology so we can diversify away from the hydrocarbon society. That’s exactly what we’re doing.” The President’s address to the RFA was a seminal event in the industry’s history. But the event was also notable for a speech by the president of the American Petroleum Institute, Red Cavaney, who discussed the oil industry’s growing acceptance of ethanol as a high octane blend component in gasoline, noting that the oil industry could now envision a time when ethanol was blended into every gallon of gasoline sold in the country! Indeed, the discourse in Washington and coffee shops from Main Street to Wall Street is no longer whether ethanol makes sense, but how much and how soon can it be produced. This fact has most definitely created a new horizon for the U.S. ethanol industry. That new horizon is at the same time wondrous and exciting, but also challenging and terrifying. The risks and responsibilities of growth are at least as large as the rewards.  This year’s Industry Outlook catalogues the successes of the past year, but it also provides important context for the challenges and opportunities expected in the coming months as the U.S. ethanol industry’s now inexorable march toward a more sustainable energy future continues.