On top of that come ethanol prices, which have soared, because refiners now blend a small percentage of ethanol into standard gasoline.

When ethanol prices soared to more than $4 a gallon this summer, the plant became a roaring success.

Gasoline prices began surging last year and ethanol prices followed upward.

Gasoline prices rise as ethanol prices stay the same, due to rapidly growing ethanol supply and federal tax subsidies for ethanol.

Wholesale ethanol prices drop nearly 30% between January and April, or $1.75 to $1.23 per gallon in the U.S.

And, indeed, ethanol prices climbed 40 cents a gallon this spring, dragging up U.S. corn prices as a result, a boon to Pekin's farmers and industry.

They rose as high as 9,000 gallons a month in September last year when gasoline prices climbed over $3 a gallon, widening the spread with ethanol prices.

But in July, Becker's pumped only 3,010 gallons of E-85, after gasoline prices dropped and ethanol prices rose.

In addition, wholesale ethanol prices are increasing as oil companies stock up on the alcohol as a substitute for petroleum additives suspected of causing cancer.

That growth has been driven largely by high ethanol prices, which topped $4.20 a gallon this summer.