New Analysis of Ethanol Energy Balance Studies Underscores Ethanol’s Benefits (1-27-06)

According to a new analysis issued Thursday by the University of California–Berkeley, ethanol made from corn reduces overall petroleum use and leads to reduced greenhouse gas emissions. National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) Ethanol Committee Chairman Bruce Noel said the analysis again supports the fact that ethanol is energy efficient and should set the record straight about the misconceptions about the practicality of ethanol production.

“When compared to conventional gasoline, ethanol is undoubtedly a net energy winner,” said Noel. “The Berkeley analysis represents yet another objective view on the subject of ethanol’s energy efficiency. This analysis does an admirable job of pointing out many of the mistakes made in previous studies of ethanol’s efficiency, such as the studies conducted by Drs. David Pimentel and Tad Patzek.”

The analysis, “Ethanol Can Contribute To Energy and Environmental Goals," conducted by U.C. Berkeley researchers Dan Kammen and Alex Farrell of the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley, deconstructed six separate high-profile studies, assessed each study’s assumptions and then reanalyzed them after correcting errors, inconsistencies and outdated information regarding the amount of energy used to grow corn and make ethanol, and the energy output in the form of fuel and corn byproducts.

“Once these changes were made in the six studies, each yielded the same conclusion about energy: Producing ethanol from corn uses much less petroleum than producing gasoline,” said the U.C. Berkeley researchers.

"It is better to use various inputs to grow corn and make ethanol and use that in your cars than it is to use the gasoline and fossil fuels directly," said Kammen, who is co-director of the Berkeley Institute of the Environment and UC Berkeley's Class of 1935 Distinguished Chair of Energy.

Kammen also noted that ethanol made from corn is better - maybe 10 or 15 percent - than gasoline in terms of greenhouse gas production.

"The people who are saying ethanol is bad are just plain wrong. We found unequivocally that it does not take more energy than you get out of the amount of ethanol. So it's a net good if you grow ethanol and use it," says Kammen.

The UC Berkeley team has made its model, the Energy and Resources Group Biofuels Meta Model (EBAMM), available to the public on its Web site.

The work was supported by the Energy Foundation, the National Science Foundation's Climate Decision Making Center at Carnegie Mellon University and the Karsten Family Foundation.