Poet LLC, the country's largest ethanol producer, and pipeline-builder Magellan Midstream Partners are poised to build a $4 billion ethanol pipeline, according to CNN Money, which would be the first in the U.S. and the longest in the world.

The 1,800-mile pipeline would run from the upper Midwest to the East Coast, and would carry about 240,000 barrels of ethanol per day.

Rep. Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa, reintroduced the Renewable Fuel Pipeline Act, which has counterpart legislation in the U.S. Senate.

Boswell's bill would provide an 80 percent loan guarantee for such a project. Without a guarantee such a pipeline may not be built, according to Magellan CEO Don Wellendorf.

A Poet and Magellan study said the pipeline would create 80,000 jobs, most of them temporary. The pipeline would create a $6.6 billion boost to the U.S. economy.

(CNN Money, March 12, 2010)

(http://money.cnn.com/…)

DTN: The price tag for building an ethanol pipeline is astronomical. It takes on the order of about $1 million to lay a one-mile stretch of pipeline. So doing a little math, it would cost about $1.8 billion just for the materials and labor to lay the pipeline. The cost really takes off when you take into consideration all of the property that would need to be acquired through right-of-way agreements. Similar to the future of cellulosic ethanol, the commitment to such a project requires assurances that the federal government will continue to support biofuels. That's why the loan guarantees are important, as they help alleviate some of the risk involved with expensive projects. (Todd Neeley)