Ethanol update: The good and the bad

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THE GOOD NEWS:
A new report from the International Energy Agency said that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions savings from corn ethanol production and use have more than doubled between 1995 and the projected level in 2015.

The report said that GHG reductions have grown from approximately 26% in 1995 to over 39% today while projected GHG reductions from ethanol will reach nearly 55% in 2015 with the advent of new technology, process efficiencies and improved yields.


[Graph from US Department of Energy]

Still, IEA said the biofuel industry needs to do a better job in benchmarking its performance if the GHG emissions benefits that it provides are to be credible.

"The industry will also need a better visibility over the entire supply chain which will mean that biofuel producers will need much better visibility on feedstock supply chain that exists in many regions of the world."-IEA

THE BAD NEWS:
Associated Press reported that ethanol's byproduct, distillers dried grains (DDGs), which is sold as livestock feed, are being linked to elevated rates of E.coli in cattle. Big Biofuels Blog also noted this news at his March 29th post "Antibiotics at heart of corn ethanol."

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This page contains a single entry by Doris De Guzman published on April 6, 2009 3:03 PM.

The darker side of solar was the previous entry in this blog.

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