Ethanol Enthusiasm Running on Empty

I was reading this in the paper, and had to chuckle to myself:

”Consumers are starting to get restless, and Washington is starting to listen,” said Morningstar analyst Ann Gilpin, who follows Decatur, Ill.-based Archer Daniels Midland, the country’s second-largest ethanol producer.

The ethanol market would be severely limited if Congress rolled back the federal mandate that calls for annual increases in the amount of biofuels added to the fuel supply — 9 billion gallons by the end of this year, increasing to 36 billion gallons by 2022.

That would most hurt companies that rely exclusively or primarily on ethanol, which include a mix of small, often locally-owned distillers — already under pressure since ethanol prices fell and corn prices rose sharply — as well as larger publicly traded firms like VeraSun Energy, the country’s top ethanol producer.

”If you sell one product and the only reason there’s a market for it is because the government makes a law requiring consumption — if that law goes away, obviously you’re in trouble,” Gilpin said.

Source:

Yep. If the only reason for consumption is because the government requires it, I would say that there is a problem. A really, really big one.

In its bid to halt climate change, Florida has pumped $50-million into ethanol projects in the past two years.

Is it worth it?

Florida has bet millions on unproven technology. If it works, in a decade Florida will produce enough ethanol to offset less than 2 percent of its thirst for gasoline. The state’s gamble on ethanol continues, even as new research indicates that ethanol could be far worse for the planet than gasoline.

Source:

If turning sugar into alcohol to run a vehicle is that cost effective, seems to me that there should be a still in every back yard. Why enrich some middleman paying for something that you can do yourself?

In the meantime, I’m still pissed off because the government is forcing me to buy a blend of gas and ethanol that will reduce my fuel efficiency and doesn’t save squat at the pumps.