[Pontiac]

The good doctor puts in his chart price per gallon and miles per dollar.

This is not a fair comparison however. Gasoline is taxed at the state and federal level while Ethanol is subsidized.

Recalculate the chart on a level playing field eliminating taxes and subsidies and then we can discuss the superiority of Ethanol as a fuel.

[LibertyRocks]

Pontiac:
The author is referring to Methanol, and not Ethanol.
The article also states that the figures are all based upon PRE-TAX fuel costs.

Neverdem:
Fascinating article. I was not aware that one could make methanol out of ANY biomass. Most things I had read stated that methanol could only be made out of fossil fuels. If it's true that Methanol can be made from any biomass source then it's a no-brainer. I don't see why we don't already do this (except the oil companies might freak out).

Without knowing much about this subject in depth, I can immediately see positives - and not many negatives.

[LibertyRocks]

Pontiac:
The author is referring to Methanol, and not Ethanol.
The article also states that the figures are all based upon PRE-TAX fuel costs.

Neverdem:
Fascinating article. I was not aware that one could make methanol out of ANY biomass. Most things I had read stated that methanol could only be made out of fossil fuels. If it's true that Methanol can be made from any biomass source then it's a no-brainer. I don't see why we don't already do this (except the oil companies might freak out).

Without knowing much about this subject in depth, I can immediately see positives - and not many negatives.

[count-your-change]

Methanol not ethanol. One is like is like booze, the other like snooze or go blind.

[Wonder Warthog]

"This is not a fair comparison however. Gasoline is taxed at the state and federal level while Ethanol is subsidized."

The author is talking about METHANOL, not ETHANOL. AFAIK, methanol is NOT subsidized.

[6ppc]

He is discussing Methanol, not Ethanol.

[usconservative]

This is not a fair comparison however. Gasoline is taxed at the state and federal level while Ethanol is subsidized.

Neither are the numbers the author uses in his study.

Here in the People's Socialist RepubliK of Illannoyed, Ethanol or E85 gasoline is only 20-30 cents per gallon less than regular gasoline, so the economics don't work out the way the chart above shows. The price of Ethanol has to be minimally HALF the cost of a gallon of regular gasoline for the economics to work out, primarily due to the dramatic loss of mpg efficiency of ethanol vs. regular gasoline (as the chart above shows.)

By way of economic comparison:

Gasoline here: $3.49/gallon
Ethanol here : $3.19/gallon

With a 50 cent per gallon state subsidized rebate, it's then $2.69 which still doesn't deliver the mpg per dollar that regular gasoline does.

So unless the cost of methanol is minimally half the cost of a regular gallon of gasoline, the economics don't work out. (And if you believe Ethanol will ever sell for half the price of regular gasoline, I have some swampland in Las Vegas to sell you.)