Energy Experts Call for Ethanol Subsidy Restructuring
Energy experts speaking at a biofuels conference say subsidies should focus less on corn-based ethanol and more on developing new technology.
Compiled by staff
Published: Feb 1, 2007
Speaking at a biofuels conference held by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, energy experts called on Congress to restructure ethanol subsidies to provide more funding for new technologies, such as cellulosic ethanol, and less for corn-based ethanol.
"We certainly don't want to demonize corn ethanol, because it's certainly better than gasoline" in regards to air quality and energy security benefits, Commission on Energy Policy Counsel David Conover told the senators, but "You ought to consider directing the subsidies where they are needed the most."
Conover characterizes the corn-based ethanol industry as "very mature," while cutting-edge technology to produce ethanol from agricultural waste could use a helping hand.
"You have to assess what additional tax incentives are needed to help cellulosic ethanol in the near-term," says Reid Detchon, director of the Energy Future Coalition, suggesting that subsidies for renewable fuels and fossil fuels should be market-based. "If oil is $70 (a barrel), probably neither industry needs support of any kind."
Source: Dow Jones release
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Tagged: ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, biofuels
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