WRAL Tech Wire

The land being used is currently in production as a hog lagoon spray field. It's already being irrigated and fertilized with manure. These higher density grasses mean that the hog farmers can use less land to dispose of their waste, so this is actually an improvement in environmental impact. Even with first generation biofuels made from corn & sorghum, the peer-reviewed studies have shown significant energy and environmental improvements. Increases in corn yields from better performing hybrids have provided the majority of the tonnage need for the increase in ethanol production – without excess fertilizer beyond what would have been needed for the initial crop. The majority of corn grown in the US is not irrigated, so water impacts extrapolate over the entire corn belt are minimal at best. And as far as considering energy of harvesting, production and transportation, today’s biofuels are significantly ahead of the total energy conversion content when compared to the drilling

There is mounting evidence that biofuels are not as environmentally benign as once suggested. If you factor in the impact of irrigation, fertilizer, harvesting, transportation and refining the total impact of biofuels is not very attractive.

No government money was lost on the Hoke County project according to the Triangle Business Journal.

Rather have some ethanol in the mix (out of anything but corn) than have to put our military in front of foreign oil rigs.

Utter nonsense. The market does NOT want Ethanol.

Govt's vain attempt to pick a winner / loser.

Amazing.......another way to spend our money. A now empty ethanol plant sits in Hoke County empty now after almost 2 years and having operated about 1 year. Yet the government supports the idea of building another. Wonder why they could not have spent money to purchase and reopen the Hoke County ethanol plant? Simply amazing!

page 1

sort order: oldest first | newest first