Does it use more energy to produce the ethanol than is contained in the ethanol?
There have been many studies on the net energy balance of corn-to-ethanol since then, by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and others which have concluded that the efficiency of both corn cultivation and ethanol production have increased. There appears to be general consensus that in the U.S., with current technology, the net energy balance of ethanol from corn is positive. Another twist to the corn-to-ethanol discussion is about what type of energy goes into the process. Ethanol displaces petroleum, but much of the energy that goes into the corn-to-ethanol process is NOT petroleum, it’s coal or natural gas, so “better” from an energy security point of view, at least on the national level. There are several major studies on question of energy balance of corn to ethanol. There are not quite as many studies on the energy balance of sugarcane to ethanol. Starting from 28 years ago…
