Is Brazil still promoting its ethanol program?
Brazil’s alternative fuel program is a true success story. Brazil started its alternative fuel program in the early 1970s and they have been aggressively pressuring it ever since. The results of this program have been outstanding. Brazil now consumes more ethanol in its automobile fleet than gasoline. More than 90% of the new cars produced in Brazil have flex-fuel engines allowing the vehicle owner to use whichever fuel is more economical and in Brazil, the most economic fuel is ethanol. The cost of ethanol in Brazil is approximately 55-60% the cost of gasoline, so there is a big economic incentive to purchase ethanol. Ethanol in Brazil is produced from sugarcane, which is a much better source of fuel than the corn that is used in the U.S. The amount of energy you get back from sugarcane-based ethanol is about nine times more than what you get back from corn-based ethanol. Not only is the high sugar content a better feedstock to produce ethanol than the starch found in corn kernels, th
