One of the anti-ethanol arguments running around is that it takes as much energy to produce ethanol as it does gasoline. Thanks to Macon Municipal Utilities and Adkins Energy LLC, another step towards proving that wrong has been made.

With the installation of Combined Heat and Power generation systems, Macon is powering their 45 million gallon per year ethanol refinery in Missouri using a natural gas-fueled turbine, producing an estimated 25 percent less emissions in doing so. The magic number is 28,000 - the number of tons of CO2 no longer vomited into our atmosphere. Neat.

Atkins Adkins Energy has gone on a similar diet, using the same type of generator for their 40 million gallon per year plant. Somehow, they're only saving 8,700 tons of CO2, but that's still 1,400 cars worth. See the rest of the EPA Award winners here. Kudos to those two already inherently green companies going even greener.


[Source: EPA via The Auto Channel]