Ethanol getting cozy with ADM and Citigroup at conference next week
Sure, you can debate the benefits and costs of ethanol vs. biodiesel, but here's something you can't really debate. In America, biodiesel gets a lot of support from home brewers and Willie Nelson while ethanol gets huge corporate support from groups like ADM and Citigroup (In other countries, Brazil for example, ADM is getting into biodiesel). In fact, ADM executives will give presentations at Citigroup's "Ethanol on the Cob" biofuels conference. The 's' in biofuels implies biodiesel might be discussed, but it's clear ethanol is the true star. The conference takes place on Tuesday afternoon and you can watch the presentations online on ADM's website.Related:
[Source: Archer Daniels Midland Company]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jimmy 12:12AM (10/02/2006)
Biodiesel is a fantastic fuel, but it will need greater investment than "home brewers and Willie Nelson" to expand beyond it's current small market. In 2005, the National Biodiesel board estimated "US production of biodiesel will reach 75 million gallons in 2005, up three times from the 25 million gallons produced in 2004". In 2005, the DOE says the US consumed about 40 billion gallons of diesel for on-road use. To get the entire US on B20 would take at least 8 billion gallons of biodiesel.
By contrast, for 2005 the RFA states a US fuel ethanol production of 3,904 million gallons. The associated press reports that for 2005 ADM produced 29% of US fuel ethanol. Cargill produced only 3%. However, 39% of US fuel ethanol production is by the 46 farmer owned ethanol plants out of a total of 97 US fuel ethanol plants (source RFA).
This means that farmer owned US ethanol plants produce more ethanol that ADM and Cargill combined!
It is also worth noting that ADM and Citigroup are subject to their shareholders, the SEC, US Courts and regulations. The foreign state owned oil companies have no checks on their corruption or environmental irresponsibility.
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Alternative Energy Blog 6:58AM (10/02/2006)
ADM whose corporate philosophy (according to FBI surveillance tapes) is
Our competitors are our friends,
our customers are our enemies.
"There isn't one grain of anything in the world that is sold in a free market," Dwayne Andreas, Chairman of ADM, told a reporter from Mother Jones in 1995.
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