Analysts F.O. Licht’s have reviewed the study point by point and state: “There are inherent difficulties in calculating the differences in the cost of producing fossil fuels on the one hand and biofuels on the other. Even the study authors warn that it should be noted that these projections are extremely uncertain, and thus the results derived are indicative”.

The analyses continues: “biofuel numbers that the authors use, and which were prepared by the UK’s Department of Transport, are currently subject to revision. This leaves the whole edifice of calculations comparing fossil and renewable fuels on quite shaky ground. Therefore the whole cost of production comparison allows only one conclusion: that a final conclusion is not possible”.

Petrol prices would likely rise

“There is no historical evidence that the introduction of biofuels has resulted in higher fuel prices at the pump. Why would this trend change? Most likely petrol prices will increase if biofuels were removed from the petrol mix. A 2008 Merrill Lynch report found that oil values at that time would have been about $20 barrel higher without the use of biofuels” said Mr. Rob Vierhout, Secretary General of ePURE.

… The studies were paid for by two NGOs campaigning against the development of biofuels but they forget to include the energy reality in Europe. … And vitally, it (ethanol) replaces the need for the most expensive and polluting marginal oil, such as tar sands. “Must we conclude from these studies that Friends of the Earth and ActionAid would actually prefer tar sands over fuel ethanol?” added Mr. Vierhout.  READ MORE and MORE  and MORE (Friends of the Earth)

The EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED) does include sustainability criteria to avoid the production of biofuels in highly biodiverse areas. A major flaw is that such criteria only apply to biofuels. Therefore although the RED prevents a landowner clearing high biodiversity value land to grow biofuels, it does not stop him clearing the land for another crop that he already grows and then growing biofuels on the vacated land. Such indirect land use change (ILUC) is difficult to measure, but it is thought to be significant in terms of biodiversity and greenhouse gas emissions.  READ MORE and MORE (Institute for European Environmental Policy)

Ethanol’s chief benefit is environmental.  …Last summer, there were no smog alerts in the GTA and 5.5 million Canadians breathed easier. Ethanol was a major factor in cleaning the air above Canada’s biggest metropolis.

A lesser-known fact is that the smaller, lighter car engines with high horsepower coming on to the market today require a higher-level octane gasoline. The traditional way to increase octane is to boost the level of aromatics in the fuel, specifically benzene, toluene and xylene. All three of these compounds are carcinogenic. The alternative method of increasing octane is to add ethanol, which has an octane of 114 and delivers plenty of extra power. That’s why Indy and NASCAR racers use ethanol.

Ethanol also reduces the price of gasoline at the pump. With about 15 billion gallons of ethanol in the North American gasoline pool today, gasoline is about 10¢ cheaper per litre in Canada and about 40¢ cheaper per gallon in the United States.  READ MORE

The SDSU Extension farm precision agronomist has been telling farmers at crop expos this winter and others he talks with that producers wouldn’t have the prices they do today on their crops without the liquid fuel.

…”The success of ethanol is incredibly, incredibly important for Midwest agriculture and the economies of the Midwest area. It’s because of ethanol that we have the prices we do. Could you imagine one-third more corn in the market now?” Carlson said.

After all, it’s his employer, SDSU, where the first ethanol dry mill production plant in the United States was developed by Paul Middaugh in the 1970s. The microbiology professor took his still to the mall in Washington, D.C., and started the ethanol revolution.

Carlson can talk for hours about the benefits of ethanol. Historically, he goes back to 1908 when Henry Ford said that alcohol was a cleaner, better fuel for automobiles than gasoline.

“He was an excellent engineer and he had a switch on his Model T dashboard with a switch that would go back and forth between ethanol and gasoline,” Carlson said.

…To add a few more arguments to the ethanol discussion, Carlson said there have been no major ethanol spills, no wars have been fought over ethanol, no solider has lost his life in a fight over ethanol, zero dollars have gone to Middle East country governments because of ethanol, and no ethanol dollars have funded terrorists.  READ MORE

“It is the position of the ethanol and grain industries that the contributing factors to the volatility facing the commodities markets are many and cannot be attributed to one industry,” the statement continues. “These factors include the high cost of fossil fuels, currency fluctuations, massive grain buys from emerging markets such as China, and noncommercial market speculators. In fact, studies that have examined both the impact of crude oil prices and biofuels demand on agricultural prices conclude that oil prices are the more influential factor. While it would be naïve to claim that grain demand for ethanol production has no effect on commodity prices, it is equally inaccurate to speculate that future ethanol policies will have a detrimental effect on the livestock and meat industries.  READ MORE

…Since first installing its trademarked Grower Harvester bioreactors at the Shenandoah plant in 2009, the project has continually met or exceeded its expectations, with the latest expansion being no exception. The company announced last fall that it planned to construct the five-acre farm in the spring and is now moving ahead as scheduled. But the successful scaling-up process has brought with it unexpected challenges on the demand side.

Last year, Green Plains CEO Todd Becker said that the project was progressing faster than market opportunities were being developed for algae. As a result, the company began participating in market development activities, supplying algae for feed trials and tests for other markets, such as pharmaceutical applications.

…(T)he company wants to play the role of farmer, supplying the wholesale dried algae to companies for their individual purposes. READ MORE

…However, less than three years after adopting a key law—which mandates that by 2020, 10% of the total energy used in transport will have to come from renewable sources such as biofuels—a tough debate has begun in the EU on whether biofuels really are better for the climate than conventional fuels.

…The majority of European cars run on diesel engines, and companies like Cargill, Sofiprotéol in France or Abengoa in Spain have all together invested billions of euros in building up biodiesel production capacity. But current capacity would already almost be enough to cover the EU 2020 targets, while regulatory uncertainty is doing its part in lowering interest in new investments, experts say.

…A liter of biofuel emits roughly the same carbon dioxide as a liter of fossil fuel when used in a car engine. But biofuels made from refining vegetable oils have been considered virtually carbon neutral because the plants from which the fuel is made has previously absorbed the carbon dioxide that is emitted by burning it.

…The commission itself is divided on the issue: Its energy department wants to stick with the target, but its climate branch is inclined to change it if it doesn’t actually help the environment, officials said.

Neste Oil says it isn’t worried about policy change. In Rotterdam, the company mainly produces NExTBL—a transparent, alcohol-like, odorless liquid, 40% of whose ingredients are waste products, like animal fat from the food industry. NExTBL has the potential to replace other biodiesels because it can be used in higher percentages when mixed with regular fuel, has a higher energy content and can stand lower temperatures, Mr. Lievonen said.   READ MORE and MORE

The appellate court has set an April 16 deadline for the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to file its opening brief after the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California court refused to suspend judgments and a preliminary injunction Jan. 23 against CARB enforcing the standard.  READ MORE and MORE

The fuels, gasoline substitutes derived from plants, probably won’t cut greenhouse gases because forests are chopped down to make way for biofuel plantations, Friends of the Earth and ActionAid said today in an e-mailed statement. The European Commission said that while biofuels cost more than fossil fuels, it’s “reasonable” for motorists to pay extra.

…EU energy spokeswoman Marlene Holzner said today in an e- mail that the biofuels target may increase cereal prices by as much as 6 percent and rapeseed costs by as much as 10 percent.

The commission is monitoring the effects on food prices. She said efficiency improvements alone won’t achieve the carbon cuts needed, and that pursuing renewables is necessary.

…An independent consultant, Malcolm Fergusson, carried out the cost analysis for Friends of the Earth and ActionAid. He extrapolated analysis relating to the costs in the U.K. and Germany across the EU. Fergusson was previously head of climate change policy at the U.K. government’s environment agency.  READ MORE