Iowa corn ethanol job creation rate 87% lower than expected, says report

In Iowa, the Sierra Club and Worldwatch published Destination Iowa, which found that a 50 Mgy corn ethanol plant creates 133 direct and indirect jobs. The Des Moines Register reported that local communities who backed ethanol plant construction had predicted that up to 1,000 jobs per plant would be created.

The report recommended increased attention to supporting second-generation biofuels to spur greater job creations, with policies such as: incentives to energy plants using biomass; use of grasses rather than corn stalks for cellulosic ethanol; lower subsidies for corn ethanol; increased quotas for use of renewable energy by utilities, and restrictions on construction of new coal-burning power plants and the purchase of power from coal-fired plants.

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