| General Information |
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| Big Oil Warms to Ethanol and BIofuel Companies |
Article from the New York Times from May 2009 about BP's venture into ethanol experimentation. Introduction: "
For decades, the big oil companies and the farm lobby have been fighting about ethanol, with the farmers pushing to produce more of it and the refiners arguing it was a boondoggle that would do little to solve the country’s energy problems." |
| Ethanol Plants in Wisconsin (map) |
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Panel in a poster presentation by Scott Sanford, Biological Systems Engineering , UW-Madison. Large file, PowerPoint required. |
| Ethanol Benefits/Challenges |
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Panel in a poster presentation by Scott Sanford, Biological Systems Engineering , UW-Madison. Large file, PowerPoint required. |
| History of Ethanol , US Ethanol Product |
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Panel in a poster presentation by Scott Sanford, Biological Systems Engineering , UW-Madison. Large file, PowerPoint required. |
| Renewable Fuels Association |
The national trade association for the U.S. ethanol industry. |
| ATTRA on Ethanol |
Excellent primer from the National Sustainable Agriculture Info Service. |
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| Feedstocks |
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| Ethanol Co-Products Could Lower Cost of Freshwater Fish Production |
USDA-ARS report: New research by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists shows that ethanol co-products can provide protein for fish feeds at a lower cost than the soybean-corn combinations commonly used. |
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| Ethanal Processing |
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| How Ethanol is Produced |
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Panel in a poster presentation by Scott Sanford, Biological Systems Engineering , UW-Madison.Large file, PowerPoint required. |
| Ethanol By-Products:
Distillers Grain and CO2 |
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Panel in a poster presentation by Scott Sanford, Biological Systems Engineering , UW-Madison.Large file, PowerPoint required. |
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| Economics & Markets |
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| Ethanol, Mandates, and Drought: Insights from a Stochastic Equilibrium Model of the U.S. Corn Market |
March 2008 report from CARD, Abstract: "The outlook for U.S. corn markets is inextricably linked to what happens to the U.S. ethanol industry, which depends, in turn, on the level of government subsidies and mandates. We develop a stochastic partial equilibrium model to simulate outcomes for the corn market for the 2008/09 marketing year to gain insight into these linkages. The model includes five stochastic variables that are major contributors to corn price volatility: planted acreage, corn yield, export demand, gasoline prices, and capacity of the ethanol industry." |
| Greenhouse Gas Impacts of Ethanol from Iowa Corn: Life Cycle Analysis versus System-wide Accounting |
February 2008 report from CARD, Abstract:
"Life cycle analysis (LCA) is the standard approach used to evaluate the greenhouse gas (GHG) benefits of biofuels. However, it is increasingly recognized that LCA results do not account for some impacts—including land use changes—that have important implications on GHGs. Thus, an alternative accounting system that goes beyond LCA is needed. In this paper, we contribute to the literature by laying out the basics of a system-wide accounting (SWA) method that takes into account all potential changes in GHGs resulting from biofuel expansion." |
Ethanol: No Free Lunch |
Part of a special issue of the Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization focused on biofuels, from Dec 2007,
Abstract: " The sharp rise in energy prices in the 1980s triggered a strong interest in the production of ethanol as an additional energy component. Economists are divided as to the payoffs from ethanol derived corn in part because of the complex interrelationship between energy produced from ethanol and energy from fossil fuels. Using a welfare economic framework, we calculate that there can be treasury savings from ethanol using tax credits as these subsidies can be smaller than direct payments to corn farmers which are essentially eliminated from the expansion of ethanol. Also, to the extent that ethanol dampens fuel prices there can be a net welfare gain from ethanol production in the presence of ethanol subsidies." |
| Economic Potential, Local Economic Impact |
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Panel in a poster presentation by Scott Sanford, Biological Systems Engineering , UW-Madison.Large file, PowerPoint required. |
| U.S. Ethanol Expansion Driving Changes Throughout the Agricultural Sector |
From Amber Waves, a USDA-ERS publication, Sept 2007. Includes overview of impacts on farm economy and food prices. |
Ethanol Expansion in the United States: How Will the Agricultural Sector Adjust? |
May 2007 Outlook report from the USDA, Abstract: "
A large expansion in ethanol production is underway in the United States. Cellulosic sources of feedstocks for ethanol production hold some promise for the future, but the primary feedstock in the United States currently is corn. Market adjustments to this increased demand extend well beyond the corn sector to supply and demand for other crops, such as soybeans and cotton, as well as to U.S. livestock industries. USDA’s long-term projections, augmented by farmers’ planting intentions for 2007, are used to illustrate anticipated changes in the agricultural sector." |
| A former foe of ethanol now champions its use as fuel |
This 2005 news article explains how
Archer Daniels Midland came around to support corn ethanol. |
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| Critiques & Concerns |
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Full Throttle U.S. Ethanol Expansion Faces Challenges
Down the Road |
In the September issue of Amber Waves, Paul Westcott of the USDA writes about the issues facign the expansion of ethanol in the next ten years. Article subtitled
"New technologies, supporting infrastructures, and greater demand will be needed to meet the country’s ambitious mandate to increase biofuel use."
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| Water Embodied in Bioethanol in the United States |
This report comes from Environmental Science & Technology. It was released in early August of 2009. The report uses a compilation of data to determine the volume of water required for bioethanol production. The report found that there is high regional variability in H2O requirements for bioethanol. The study's primary researchers were from the University of Minnesota:
Yi-Wen Chiu, Brian Walseth and Sangwon Suh. |
| Ethanol's Grocery Bill: Two federal studies add up the corn fuel's exorbitant cost |
An opinion piece from the June 3, 2009 issue of the Wall Street Journal that provides an analysis of two recent federal studies: one by the Congressional Budget Office and the other by the EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality. |
| Energy Balance: It takes energy to make energy |
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Panel in a poster presentation by Scott Sanford, Biological Systems Engineering , UW-Madison.Large file, PowerPoint required. |
| Energy Balance: The ethanol debate. |
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Panel in a poster presentation by Scott Sanford, Biological Systems Engineering , UW-Madison.Large file, PowerPoint required. |
| Energy Inputs to Ethanol |
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Panel in a poster presentation by Scott Sanford, Biological Systems Engineering , UW-Madison.Large file, PowerPoint required. |
| Fuel Ethanol Subsidies:
An Economic Perspective |
New study says ethanol industry doesn't need federal support. Sept 2007 by Thomas E. Elam, PhD,
President.
FarmEcon.Com. |
| The High Costs of Ethanol |
NYTimes Sept 19, 2007. Quote: "
The economics of corn ethanol have never made much sense." |
Ethanol Fuels: Energy Balance, Economics,
and Environmental Impacts are Negative |
Dr. David Pimentel of Cornell is famous for his opposition to corn-based ethanol. This 2003 paper continues his long-standing claim that the net energy balance of ethanol production is negative. Despite a chorus of academic colleagues and industry representatives who have refuted his work, this this perspective is not going away. |
Thermodynamics of the Corn-Ethanol
Biofuel Cycle |
Dr. Tad Patzek of UC-Berkeley is an ally of Pimentel in opposition to corn-ethanol. In this article, updated July 2006, he states: "In this paper I define sustainability, sustainable cyclic processes, and quantify the degree of non-renewability of a major biofuel: ethanol produced from industrially-grown corn." |
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| Proponent views |
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| The Energy Balance of Corn Ethanol: An Update |
From the USDA, July 2002: "We conclude that the NEV (Net Energy Value) of corn ethanol has been rising over time due to technological advances in ethanol conversion and increased efficiency in farm production. We show that corn ethanol is energy efficient as indicated by an energy output:input ratio of 1.34." |
Ethanol Can Contribute to Energy
and Environmental Goals |
This report from Alexander E. Farrell et al at UC-Berkely appeared in Science in on 27 January 2006. "To study the potential effects of increased biofuel use, we evaluated six representative analyses of fuel ethanol. Studies that reported negative net energy incorrectly ignored coproducts and used some obsolete data. All studies indicated that current corn ethanol technologies are much less petroleum-intensive than gasoline but have greenhouse gas emissions similar to those of gasoline." See research background. |
| The Carbohydrate Economy, Biofuels and the Net Energy Debate |
An August 2005 article by David Morris of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. ILSR is based in Minneapolis and has been working on local & regional development strategies for 30 years. The agricultural section of their New Rules Project presents numerous rebuttals to Pimentel and other ethanol opponents. |
