Current data vital for fair debate of ethanol's best role

The ongoing struggle to cap the gusher in the Gulf of Mexico, just after President Obama gave the go-ahead for more offshore drilling, is sure to keep the debate over U.S. energy policy in the forefront for years to come.

Oil troubles should make ethanol all that much more attractive, but the fuel's detractors, whatever their motives, are sure to point out its shortcomings.

Ethanol does have its problems, of course -- but so does every type of energy.

Chief among the arguments is that ethanol takes too much energy to create, as well as too much corn which could go into other uses such as food for humans or animals.

Ethanol proponents don't mind debating the fuel's merits, but the Nebraska Corn Board is urging the use of the most current data when arguing for changes in policy.

The board points to a study by the University of Illinois at Chicago as evidence that the ethanol industry has made much progress in efficiency.

The study by Dr. Steffen Mueller at the Energy Resources Center at the university used a survey of 90 of the 150 dry mill ethanol plants operating in 2008 to compare data from a 2001 study conducted for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The results show ethanol plants used 36,000 Btu of thermal energy to produce each gallon of ethanol in 2001, compared to 25,859 in 2008. Other the same period, the amount of electrical energy dropped from 1.09 kWh to 0.74, while the amount of ethanol produced from each bushel of corn climbed from 2.64 gallons to 2.78 gallons per bushel.

The survey also showed that a dry mill corn ethanol plant in 2008 produced 5.3 pounds of dried distillers grains and 2.15 pounds of wet distillers grains per gallon of ethanol produced, or 20.7 pounds of total distillers grains produced per bushel of corn converted into ethanol.

On average, ethanol plants used corn from within a 47-mile radius from the plant.

The study "underscores the importance of using current data when it comes to estimating the life cycle analysis of ethanol production," Randy Klein of the Nebraska Corn Board said. "Using outdated data just doesn't work, nor does the assumption that today's estimates will be valid tomorrow. The ethanol industry continues to develop, which is why one cannot label today's ethanol industry as mature.

"Like corn farmers, who continuously strive to produce more corn with fewer inputs, ethanol plants get more efficient and productive over time," Klein said. "Regulations and fuel standards should not be implemented without taking that into consideration."

Corn-based ethanol may not be the final, total answer to our energy needs, but it is certainly one viable option that deserves a fair hearing in the debate. Using current data is the only way to make sure Americans can make the best choice.

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