Well that sounds completely inversed to what I've been hearing here. I do not know enough to say either way so I hand it to you guys.
http://www.ethanol.org/PressRelease71905bhtm.htm
Claims that Ethanol has a Negative Energy Balance are Outrageous
Sioux Falls, SD (July 19, 2005) – The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) today set the record straight on the allegation that ethanol has a negative energy balance.
“That claim is just outrageous,” said Ron Lamberty, ACE Vice President / Market Development. “The bottom line is that it takes 35,000 BTUs of energy to turn a bushel of corn into a gallon of ethanol, and that gallon of ethanol contains at least 77,000 BTUs. What kind of math is being used to turn this number into a negative?”
Professors David Pimentel of Cornell University and Tad Patzek of the University of California, Berkeley are claiming that it takes more energy to produce a gallon of ethanol than the ethanol offers as a motor fuel.
“This new study by Pimentel and Patzek is just the latest regurgitation of Pimentel's research from 1979. It is an amazing routine of mathematical gymnastics to prove a political point, one that is no longer true,” Lamberty said. “Twenty years ago their information may have been correct, but today it couldn't be more wrong. Pimentel should be taking credit for having helped create today's truly efficient ethanol production process, not using old numbers to shoot it down.”
Brian Jennings, ACE Executive Vice President, added: “Any objective analysis of ethanol's energy balance equation done in the last 20 years will verify that ethanol contains much more energy than what is used to produce it. The re-release of Pimentel's antiquated study is a misleading effort by foreign oil apologists to derail important ethanol legislation working its way through Congress.”
Some insight into Patzek's bias against ethanol can be found on his own website: http://petroleum.berkeley.edu/patzek/index.htm . Patzek spent nearly a decade working for Shell Oil Company as a researcher, consultant, and expert witness. He is the founder and current director of the UC Oil Consortium, an organization funded mainly by the oil industry to the tune of $60,000-120,000 per year, per company.
“Tad Patzek is not a disinterested third party in this debate. It shouldn't be shocking that someone with such a background in the oil industry would come out opposed to ethanol, a viable alternative to oil,” Lamberty said.
Scientific studies have overwhelmingly found ethanol's energy balance to be positive, many of which can be viewed online at www.ethanol.org/ethanolresearch.html . The U.S. Department of Agriculture's most recent numbers indicate that the corn-to-ethanol process provides a net energy gain of at least 67 percent.
In a continuing effort to refute the perpetuation of these myths regarding ethanol, Hosein Shapouri – USDA economist and leading authority on ethanol's energy balance – will give a special presentation on this topic at next month's ACE Ethanol Conference & Trade Show. His presentation will take place on August 18 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska, beginning at 9:30 am .
For more information or to register for the conference, visit www.ethanol.org . Media wishing to attend should contact Kristin Brekke by e-mail at kbrekke@ethanol.org to secure credentials for the event.
Ethanol Fast Facts:
* Ethanol is a clean-burning, high-octane fuel produced from renewable resources like corn.
* A blend of 10% ethanol, 90% gasoline (called E10) can be used in any make or model of vehicle.
* The U.S. has 87 ethanol plants, about half of which are owned by farmers and local investors.
* Ethanol offers superior vehicle performance – the Indy Racing League will begin using it next year.
* It takes only 35,000 BTUs of energy to produce ethanol that contains at least 77,000 BTUs of energy.
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The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) is the grassroots voice of the U.S. ethanol industry. ACE is a national trade association for the ethanol industry with more than 700 members in 43 states, including farmers, ethanol producers, commodity organizations, businesses supplying goods and services to the ethanol industry, rural electric cooperatives, and individuals supportive of increased production and use of ethanol. For more information about the organization or about ethanol, visit ACE on the Web at www.ethanol.org or call (605) 334-3381.
