E-85 Ethanol Not Mana From Heaven

We've been getting all these stories that extole the virtues of Ethanol. We're being told how it will wean us from dependence to foreign oil and give us relief from high gasoline prices. Some examples here, here, and here. The Governor of my own state of Louisiana has even signed a bill requiring that fuel containing ethanol, as well as other alternative fuels, must be sold in the state once production of such fuels reaches certain levels.

From what I've read, the only ones benefiting from Ethanol, are the corn farmers, refiners, and investors.

Here's a story from the San Fransisco Chronicle by Edward Epstein:

The ethanol plant is a real key to economic development in this part of the county," said Fritz Kuhlmeier, president of the locally owned Citizens State Bank in Lena, which has deposits of about $120 million.

"Our jobs are being sucked into the cities, where there's more people and more culture, more activity. We have a brain drain here," said Kuhlmeier, whose son went away to college and now works as a structural engineer in Milwaukee, about three hours away.

Almost 350 farmers around Lena benefit from the strong ethanol market for their corn. They're doing even better because they own 85 percent of the Adkins plant, along with three corporate partners. (more)

Here's another from CNNMoney.com by Grace Wong:

Wall Street has taken a shine to ethanol producers as sky-high crude prices, limited refining capacity and concerns over environmental pollution have helped push ethanol prices to record highs. Ethanol, an alternative fuel most often made from corn, is usually blended with gasoline to make it burn more cleanly.

Three ethanol producers are looking to capitalize on those conditions. VeraSun Energy, the nation's No. 2 ethanol producer,will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "VSE" Wednesday. Rivals Hawkeye Holdings and Aventine Renewable Energy have filed to go public as well. (more)

Today I see this headline Professor: Ethanol is no miracle cure and story by Randy Conat of WJRT-TV.

But Professor Mark Perry, of U-M Flint, recently wrote an article published in the Flint Journal that points of some of the drawbacks of ethanol as a fuel. "I think this is one of the most misguided public policies we've had in a generation."

E-85, the fuel that's 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, is promoted as a way of lessening the need for foreign oil. But it takes a lot of fossil fuel to produce ethanol.

"The energy required to produce a gallon of ethanol is more than the energy you get out of it. So producing ethanol results in about a 20 to 30 percent net loss of energy in the process," Perry explained.