Ethanol
Ethanol production is a significant industrial activity in Minnesota. As of July 2008, 19 plants were in operation with a production capacity of approximately 900 million gallons per year. Four additional plants are under construction with an anticipated production capacity of 400 million gallons per year. Ethanol production is energy and water use intensive, and there are significant concerns about environmental impacts.
However, there are opportunities to increase energy efficiency, reduce water consumption, and reduce impacts to Minnesota’s air and water resources.
Many of these opportunities are on these pages along with information on the performance of Minnesota’s ethanol production facilities, important news for the industry, new technologies and best practices.
Hot Topics
Providing links to the latest in ethanol news.
The Clean Energy Scam: An explosion in demand for farm-grown fuels has raised global crop prices to record highs, spurring a dramatic expansion of Brazilian agriculture, which is invading the Amazon at an increasingly alarming rate. Time Magazine, 3/27/2008.
US DOE Ethanol Myths and Facts: This document clarifies some common myths about ethanol. US DOE web site, 4/18/2008.
Land Clearing and the Biofuel Carbon Debt: Demand for alternatives to petroleum is increasing the production of biofuels from food crops. As a result, land in undisturbed ecosystems is being converted to biofuel production as well as to crop production when existing agricultural land is diverted to biofuel production. Science Express, 02/2008.
DOE Actively Engaged in Investigating the Role of Biofuels in Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Indirect Landuse Change: DOE Response to articles posted on Science Express from February 2008. US DOE report (pdf).
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Ethanol Homepage
Resources
U of MN Ethanol Research
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