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sw ontario | The 5-8% energy cost you use is flawed as you have quite a bit of "energy" in transporting and making fert.,drying corn,storage,bins,ect.......George Morris center used too figure a 15% net gain compared too 85% net gain for conventional crude . Ethanol is doing better today but I doubt if it would exceed a 35% net gain. What is happening is in Greenfield In Chatham they have constructed a greenhouse (maybe 60-75 acres) and it is going to be heated from the steam off the ethanol plant . Greenhouses here burn coal,NG , heavy oil and bio mass-its whatever is the cheapest as farmers they don't need too meet environmental rules for air quality yet . Using bio mass for heat is the volumes needed . Marchand & Duffy from U of G has just completed a study on cellustic ethanol production using corn stover and different issues from collecting it to storing it to soil compaction and loss of organic matter . Ng or LP fuels work good for vehicles but nothing is as easy to handle,store,transport as gas. All green energy has a pretty big footprint as a wind turbine with all its cement ,roads,infrastructure has around 20 yr. carbon breakeven,solar is like 6 yrs. using silicon collectors (they figured ALL energy used making,installing,ect.)...some cities in Canada now ban wood burning fireplaces or stoves in your house....I would suggest a lot of energy could be saved if people lived closer to where they worked and we didn't have as much urban sprawl and in reality maybe fuel is too cheap when guys drive 5 miles just to have a coffee. 1234 pretty much anybody can put a spin on what they want but all sources have a footprint and cost www.ofa.on.ca/uploads/userfiles/files/cornstalkreport.final.pdf | |
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Just a comment on Ethanol energy balance.
