Today in Biofuels Opinion: “Ethanol: Not dead yet.”

President Barack Obama, from the Des Moines Register: “Corn-based ethanol over time is not going to provide us with the energy-efficient solutions that are needed. {But it’s important to maintain] progress we’ve made in building up a biofuels infrastructure and the important income generation that has come from ethanol plants.”

From CNN Money: “Ethanol: Not dead yet. Ethanol firms that not long ago were the darlings of the industry are now gasping for air. New jacks are poised to take over the reins. The only question is when? The old kings of ethanol are struggling for survival but a new crop of companies are poised to ascend to the throne and hope to offer a superior product. Tight credit and slim profit margins in the traditional corn ethanol business are felling the sector’s once-mighty big boys. Pacific Ethanol, where Bill Gates had a big stake, has seen its shares fall to a paltry 25 cents from over $40 in 2006. Verasun, formerly the second biggest ethanol producer in the country, is currently in bankruptcy. It was thought these companies would transition from corn-based ethanol – which drew fire for being inefficient and driving up food prices – to “second-generation” ethanol made from cheaper non-food crops and trash. Now that seems dead in the water.”

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