A Profitable Alternative?

The debate on ethanol has raged since the first environmentalists and government policy makers alike proposed the use of corn ethanol as a means to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and encourage alternative, mores sustainable sources of energy.
The energy return on the energy invested (EROEI) is a measure used by many to conclude whether the production of energy resources is worthwhile. The EROEI of the production of crude oil is between 7 and 13.3. Those who argue that the EROEI of corn ethanol is below 0, which makes it useless to produce as it brings in a net “loss” of energy, agree that the “co-product credit,” the ways in which the byproducts of corn ethanol can be used, turn it into a positive. Regardless, corn ethanol’s EROEI does not come close to that of crude oil.
Low EROEI scores, the inflation in corn prices and products dependent upon it, the 2007 United Nations Rapportuer calling for a five-year moratorium on biofuel production to allow for research to develop sustainable non-food sources of ethanol, as well as the bankruptcies of some of America’s biggest ethanol producers, all indicate that the ethanol biofuel industry is in trouble.
VeraSun, Ethanex (“Today in Biofuels: BioTown USA falters, Ethanex files for bankruptcy”), Alternative Energy Sources, and E3 Biofuels are all examples of major corporations filing for bankruptcy or struggling to stay competitive in the market.
Biofuel corporations already receive billions of dollars in subsidies from taxpayers. Yet, has biofuel really been made that affordable? Subsidies create incentives for consumers to purchase alternative products. Thus, the taxpayers are the ones who pay to create the incentives for themselves, as the consumers, to purchase a product that has low energy return, and crippling effects on communities that depend upon cheap corn products.
Barack Obama, the current United States President Elect, includes in his comprehensive environmental plan a 150 billion dollar investment in clean energy sources, such as biofuels. Hopefully, the proposed investment does not further support an already troubled industry but rather seeks to find other energy efficient alternatives.