A new study has discovered ethanol and biofuel plants burn more energy than they produce.
Researchers at two American universities – Cornell and California-Berkeley – say it takes 29 per cent more fossil energy to turn corn into ethanol than the amount of fuel the process produces.
But those involved in ethanol producing say the report does not take into account the by-products which come out of ethanol production including carbon dioxide which can be recaptured and put to other uses.
The study comes as farmers, businesses and state officials are investing millions of dollars in ethanol and biofuel plants as renewable energy sources.
However, Gary Kramer, Monroe’s Badger State Ethanol President, said: A study by Argon labs south of Chicago showed a net energy gain of 136 percent during ethanol production,.
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