Hourly Update

Switchgrass ethanol not so easy, say industry members

As nationwide demand surges for ethanol, producers of the fuel are increasingly looking beyond corn for main ingredients. But much-touted alternatives, such as switchgrass and woodchips, are a long way from becoming the norm in ethanol production, according to speakers at industry panels held today at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa. Although ethanol can be produced from virtually any plant substance, more intensive chemical processes are required to make the fuel from fibrous materials like grass or wood than from starch materials like corn or sugar cane, according to conference speakers. Those processes have yet to become efficient, they said. President Bush has set a goal of producing 35 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2017, with much of the increase coming from ethanol made from woodier sources - known as “cellulosic ethanol.” But commercial production of cellulosic ethanol is only just beginning, said speakers from biotechnology firms. Farmers are also a long way from being able to grow switchgrass or other so-called “energy crops” en masse, said U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, D-MN, chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture. “There’s just a lot of issues with not only how do you grow these crops, but how do you get them into the system in an efficient way,” Peterson said to a crowd at the resort. Peterson said the House Agriculture Committee hopes to include provisions for encouraging research into cellulosic ethanol production in the coming Farm Bill. The 12th annual National Ethanol Conference, organized by the Washington D.C.-based Renewable Fuels Association, attracted more than 2,000 representatives from ethanol investment, technology and production companies. Matt Hartwig, spokesman for the industry group, said cellulosic ethanol has become an especially important topic at this year’s conference. “Without the development of cellulose ethanol production, we won’t achieve the kinds of goals that President Bush has put forward,” he said after the conference concluded today.