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Dealers
Colin Mathews
"So many ethanol plants are in trouble that they're just jumping over each other to move some product," said Jim Damask, manager at Biofuelsconnect. The alternative-energy brokering company in Heathrow, Fla. explained in Detroit News that oil companies are curtailing their gasoline/ethanol blends, which have been as high as E10 (90-percent petroleum, 10-percent ethanol), due to rock-bottom prices for the alternative fuel.
Ethanol is blended with gasoline to both meet federal mandates and reserve supplies of gasoline. But ethanol contains less energy-per-volume than gasoline, lowering power and economy. And gasoline companies, on the heels of record-high prices which killed demand and profit for big oil, are trying to move as much of their own product as possible. Not to mention that reduced profit margins dictated by low oil prices make blends unappealing to oil companies at present.
Due to the slack demand for ethanol, U.S. producers have halted 2.05 billion gallons of annual ethanol capacity, working out to 20 percent of total production in this country. Just like many automakers, they've employed plant shutdowns or delays in new plant construction to get supply in line with demand.
[source: Detroit News]
Corn Ethanol PumpEnlarge Photo "So many ethanol plants are in trouble that they're just jumping over each other to move some product," said Jim Damask, manager at Biofuelsconnect. The alternative-energy brokering company in Heathrow, Fla. explained in Detroit News that oil companies are curtailing their gasoline/ethanol blends, which have been as high as E10 (90-percent petroleum, 10-percent ethanol), due to rock-bottom prices for the alternative fuel. Ethanol is blended with gasoline to both meet federal mandates and reserve supplies of gasoline. But ethanol contains less energy-per-volume than gasoline, lowering power and economy. And gasoline companies, on the heels of record-high prices which killed demand and profit for big oil, are trying to move as much of their own product as possible. Not to mention that reduced profit margins dictated by low oil prices make blends unappealing to oil companies at present. 2009 Chevrolet HHR E85Enlarge Photo Due to the slack demand for ethanol, U.S. producers have halted 2.05 billion gallons of annual ethanol capacity, working out to 20 percent of total production in this country. Just like many automakers, they've employed plant shutdowns or delays in new plant construction to get supply in line with demand. [source: Detroit News]
Responses (3 total)
By Tim Estock #1, Posted: 1/22/2009
Tim
Do everyone a favor and shut down. When I get a tank of the 10% blend my gas milage goes south and it costs me more than buying just gas - What good is it?
By Reece #2, Posted: 1/22/2009
Another alternate fuel goes bust
As yet again economic reality hits and an alternative fuel goes down even with generous government help.
In some senses this is sad, not for ethanol, it isn't a great product no matter what the spruikers say, butt hat it will cause investment in other, betetr and more promising alternate fules to stop. Ethanol on large scale doesn't work as it is currently based on food crops, requires a lot of energy to manufacture and provides less power and economy than petrol.
However, there are other alternates in the pipeline such as cullosic ethanol that uses plant waste rather than food crops and genetically engineered bio-ethanol. Both of these need many more years of development and thus funding but will this happen int he economic downturn and the failure of ethanol (again).
This is also a reflection of what happens when mob mentality hits investment, everyone jumps on board before things are properly tested or at market maturity, things fail and then people give up and chase the next greatest thing. The same is likely to happen to electric cars I predict. Reason is that it doesn't currently (other than inhybrid form) provide the range that people need. Real world tests on Tesla cars shows in real world driving they have about 25 to 50 mile range not 200. That they use power quickly yet takes a long time to replenish. With all this money rushing in, i it does fail then people will say electric cars are dead and move on. What is really needed is longer term thinking and waiting for the technology to mature the point it will deliver most of what it promises and people want.
My view is that bio-engineered synthetic fuel will be the longer term solution but it is good 10 years from amturity, problem is the humand race gets bored quickly and looks for the next great thing rather than think things through.
By john #3, Posted: 2/2/2009
Tim - you are missing the point
Thank you for trying ethanol. You are disappointed because you thought it would be conscientious switch without penalty, but you felt the penalty (performance). What you should realize is that we have been living large on the environmental credit card, and now the bill has to be paid. We cut back, we sacrifice, just a little, for a long term payoff. It's not rewarding in the short term, but short term thinking usually leads to long term disaster.
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