After a spot of reading for my Biofuels assignment, it is becoming clearer to me at least (for those more enlightened bear with me), that being alternative is not as simple as it looks.
In a week where the ongoing unrest in Libya sent the oil price up, only to be (literally) shaken down again by the devastation wrought by Mother Nature in Japan, we have been reminded that cheap fuel is at the whim of a jittery market.
On the face of it, being the good economic rationalists most of us find ourselves being, alternative fuels are there and at the moment, are competitive. Really? The following is worth considering, given that the the time of writing, oil was trading just under $US 100/barrel;
Brazilian ethanol from sugarcane is competitive at $US25-30/barrel
US ethanol (from corn) is competitive at $US 50-60/barrel and even
EU ethanol (born of cereals, sugar beet and/or agricultural subsidies) is competitive at $US 70/barrel.
Brazil is one of the few countries where pure petroleum is no longer sold and the flex-fuel vehicles in that market run on 10-100% ethanol and/or petroleum blends.
However there is that small burning question, with an insatiable thirst for fuel, how will we grow enough to eat and drive? That's even before we consider the forests and the bio-diversity we are all rather used to.... Oh, if only it was that simple!
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