Bio-Ethanol

Q: What is there to say about a fuel that requires more energy in than energy out?

A: I had a manager once with a sign above his door that read "It depends".

So it goes with bioethanol. It's pretty easy to condemn subsidised, US-grown corn ethanol. Other feedstocks however may make ethanol a helpful addition to the fuel supply. The ultimate criticism of ethanol is there isn't enough land in the world to grow the needed quantities.

There is also a swiftian aspect to ethanol. Rather than actually eating babies, modern societies will take the food from their mouths. Black children in Africa will compete for energy with black SUV's in North America.

Spengler forum chatter

GAIN report - E36129

Page 2 of 3
USDA Foreign Agricultural Service

The CAP Reform of 2003 introduced the so-called Carbon Credit, which grants a payment of €45/ha to growers of energy crops, including crops grown for the production of biodiesel and bioethanol. The Carbon Credit is available for all agricultural crops except hemp, as long as they have a contract for approved energy uses. EU farmers cannot get Carbon Credit for energy crops on set-aside land.

The European Commission has proposed to extend the energy crop premium Carbon Credits to all New Member States (NMS) starting 2007. Currently 8 of the 10 NMS are excluded from this aid, since they apply the Single Area Payment Scheme (SAPS). This aid for energy crops came into effect for the first time in 2004, when it was eligible in the EU15, Slovenia and Malta. The areas for which the direct payment for energy crops was
claimed in the first two years was well below the maximum guaranteed area (MGA) of 1.5million hectares.

The total area in 2004 was around 300,000 ha (about 20 percent) and the total area in 2005 around 570,000 ha (38 percent). Preliminary data for 2006 shows that the strong growth continues and suggests the area could be 1.2-1.3 million ha.

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sofar The Biopact