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As Ethanol Takes First Steps, Congress Proposes Giant Leap
By Mr Ethanol | December 18, 2007
CNET News:
Congress is on the verge of writing into law one of the most ambitious dictates ever issued to American business: to create, from scratch, a huge new industry capable of converting agricultural wastes and other plant material into automotive fuel.
The potential benefits include reducing the nation’s dependence on oil and the emissions of gases that contribute to global warming. But the goals Congress is considering are so sweeping, analysts say, that it is not clear they can be achieved.
No fuel of the type in question has been produced commercially in the United States. Even in the view of people who back the idea, the technology to do it is immature, the economics are uncertain, and the potential for unintended consequences is high.
Hundreds of new factories will be required, perhaps a billion tons of plant material will need to be hauled around every year, and estimates of the required investment start at tens of billions of dollars.
“It’s not clear that it is doable, but it wasn’t clear you could send a man to the moon, either,” said Mark Flannery, head of energy equity research at Credit Suisse. “You don’t know until you try.”
As a new energy bill has slogged through Congress on the way to the president’s desk, much of the debate has focused on a historic revision of fuel-economy standards intended to make American cars 40% more efficient. Read full article.
Topics: Ethanol, Legislative, News |
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