The Facts on Ethanol Production

Bliss Baker, Vice President GreenField Ethanol

For years, farming in Canada has been largely portrayed as a bad-news business, making the headlines only in the context of financial struggles and government aid packages. That has been unfortunate for farmers. But times may be changing. Prospects are improving – and they’re improving thanks in part to the growth of our national ethanol and biofuels industry. It would appear that the OCPA’s foresight in the early 1990’s and their longstanding efforts to kickstart an ethanol
industry in Canada are finally paying dividends – congratulations.

Today, Canadians are making and using more ethanol than ever before. This has resulted in increased demand for crops (such as corn and other grains) and, in turn, rising incomes for the farmers who grow them. The benefits of this trend extend into rural communities, many of which are experiencing increased economic activity triggered by these higher incomes – and some of which will benefit even further from the construction and operation of new ethanol plants. Our company alone has over 600 farmer investors.

It’s worth noting that this rural growth is being achieved in concert with a real and valuable contribution to our collective effort to combat climate change. Ethanol is a renewable resource – a clean-burning fuel that greatly reduces greenhouse gas related emissions as compared with traditional gasoline. Since almost all vehicles on the road today are capable of using gasoline made with 10% ethanol, the path to reduced emissions leads directly to fuelling stations that sell ethanol-blended gasoline. Some cars and trucks can use fuel blends with as much as 85% ethanol, resulting in even fewer emissions. Indeed, it is estimated by the federal government that its 5% Renewable Fuels Standard will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an amount equivalent to removing a million cars from our nation’s roadways.

At the same time, farmers and ethanol producers are making strides in reducing even further the environmental impact of growing and processing the crops from which ethanol is made. In that context, let’s take a closer look at a couple of the myths surrounding the production of ethanol.

Myth

Making ethanol requires the use and waste of an excessive amount of water.

The modern reality is that ethanol uses fairly modest amounts of water for production – and much of that water gets recycled and reused. In fact, most ethanol plants use less water in an entire year than is required to produce a city’s Saturday newspaper. By way of contrast, the development of the Alberta oil sands requires the use of six barrels of water for every barrel of oil produced – and the runoff from this process is toxic, meaning the water cannot be reused.

Of course, water is also essential to the growth of the crops used in ethanol – but real progress is being made here. The amount of water used for irrigation is in decline. In 2006, for instance, only 4% of U.S. corn used for ethanol production was irrigated. As well, the development of drought-resistant corn is expected to cut in half the total amount of water required for a healthy crop.

Myth

The production of ethanol uses up more energy than ethanol provides.

It is true that back in the infancy of ethanol development, inefficient coal-fired refineries – most of which were located in the United States – likely produced a negative energy balance. But that’s history. The vast majority of unbiased third-party studies show that ethanol has a clear and well-established positive energy balance – meaning that each litre of ethanol contains more energy than is required for inputs for crop production and ethanol manufacturing. To cite just one
example, Natural Resources Canada concluded that corn ethanol produces up to 55% more energy than is used in its production. Although petroleum-derived
energy is used in the manufacturing and transportation of ethanol, this is more than offset by the solar energy and CO2 captured by the crops being grown for ethanol.

The simple fact is that new ethanol plants are much more efficient and built with energy conservation in mind. Every ethanol refinery in Canada relies on natural gas, not on coal, and has a positive energy balance. The future holds yet more promise: as crop and ethanol production become even more efficient over the next decade, the positive energy balance is expected to improve by up to 25%.

By cutting through the myths we can see that the growth of Canada’s ethanol industry is good news for Canadians, for our environment and for our farm communities. After decades defined largely by struggle, many farmers find themselves at the forefront of where the world is heading in terms of energy production. They are growing not only the foods of the present – they are growing the fuels of the future..