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Is Corn Ethanol A Big Mistake?

Posted on: Wednesday, 23 July 2008, 06:00 CDT

By Ad Crable

Suddenly, corn ethanol is no longer the darling in the nation's desperate search for an energy alternative to oil.

In recent weeks, Republican presidential candidate John McCain, Gov. Ed Rendell and U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts have taken actions to slow what had been a corn ethanol bandwagon.

Locking up corn for ethanol production has driven up food prices for the poor around the world and hurt many farmers who can't afford the higher feed prices, they say.

But a $120 million ethanol plant proposed for Conoy Township is still on track, though corn may not be the primary source of the biofuel, Lancaster Biofuels President Seth Obetz said today.

We're not sure of the direction right now. I don't think the (ethanol) industry is either, Obetz said.

We're having a meeting with investors this afternoon, and there will be presentations on different technologies.

Making ethanol from cellulosic sources such as grasses, corn stalks, barley and other plants is a possibility.

The ethanol plant on a site next to the county incinerator was given the go-ahead by Conoy supervisors in March. But the action has been appealed by the owners of nearby Nissley Vineyards.

The first court date on the lawsuit is scheduled for September.

The Bush administration's energy bill passed by Congress last year mandates that 9 billion gallons of ethanol be blended into gasoline in the U.S. in 2008.

Some 147 ethanol plants are already in operation, and a quarter of all corn planted in the United States last year went for ethanol production.

But with corn prices jumping 80 percent in the last year, a movement has grown to block the Renewable Fuel Standard mandate.

In April, Texas Gov. Rick Perry asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to cut the ethanol mandate in half.

On June 30, 51 U.S. representatives, including Pitts, also urged EPA to reduce the ethanol mandate.

The (Bush) administration can immediately impact the supply of corn that will be used for food and feed and lessen the severe economic harm facing millions of Americans, the letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson said in part.

Pitts spokesman Andrew Cole said this morning that the congressman opposes strict government mandates because they often create unforeseen consequences.

Cellulosic ethanol, the next generation ethanol, will be a far more efficient way to produce energy, Cole said. The additional benefit of cellulosic ethanol is that it will not use the same crop sources as our food.

The House initiative was soon followed by a letter to Johnson from 24 senators, including McCain, urging the EPA to reset ethanol targets.

EPA is scheduled to make an announcement this week on the requests.

The petroleum, poultry and beef industries, as well as many environmental groups, have taken a similar stand.

After praising corn ethanol's promise to make Pennsylvania less reliant on foreign oil, Rendell signed a budget earlier this month that conspicuously fails to mention corn-based ethanol.

Instead, 10 percent of all gasoline sold in the state is to include ethanol made from cellulosic (plant) ethanol when in-state production is high enough.

Pennsylvania can be to cellulosic ethanol what corn-based ethanol was to Iowa and the Midwest, Rendell said when he signed the Biofuel Development and In-State Production Incentive Act.

Pennsylvania has an abundant supply of cellulosic feedstocks, including switchgrass, wood chips, municipal waste and agricultural waste.

Reacting to the criticism, the secretaries of the federal departments of energy and agriculture said in June that oil and gas prices, increased demand for corn in developing countries and other factors are largely responsible for hikes in global food prices, not corn ethanol.

Obetz, decrying misinformation and lack of research in painting corn ethanol as a culprit, notes that after ethanol production, the nutritious leftover mash would be sold as feed for the same livestock it was intended for in the first place.

The fact is, he says, corn is very efficient in producing ethanol and ethanol can help loosen the grip on foreign oil while conservation, more efficient vehicles and other energy sources are developed.

It's oil that's the culprit, not biofuels, he says.

Source: Intelligencer Journal

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