Nearly 100 ethanol plants are producing 4.7 billion gals., says Ron Lamberty, Market Development Director for the American Coalition for Ethanol, and that's not enough to meet current demands.

“Removal of MTBE from the fuel supply has left a void of about 2 billion gals. Even though the ethanol industry is increasing by a billion gallons this year, there's still another billion gallons of opportunity out there,” he says.

Currently, 33 ethanol plants are under construction in the U.S.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has 53 biodiesel plants, boasting a 350-million gals./year capacity. Terry Goerger, North Dakota Biodiesel Task Force chairman, expects biodiesel use to grow extremely fast.

“It's just trying to get that balancing act so we make sure we cover our bases, but not overdoing it.” Goerger says.