Net Energy of Ethanol - Report Resources

Here is a list of analysis regarding the net energy balance of ethanol:

• Ethanol Can Contribute to Energy and Environmental Goals and the ERG Biofuel Analysis Meta-Model and Report
  In the fall of 2005, the University of California at Berkeley independently reviewed six representative analyses of the ethanol life cycle efficiency of fuel ethanol. Their findings were published in the January 2006 issue of Science Magazine and conclude that ethanol is good for energy security and greenhouse gas emissions. The ERG Biofuel Analysis Meta-Model (EBAMM) was developed at UC Berkeley to accommodate a direct comparison of the existing data and assumptions. You can find links to the paper and the EBAMM model, as well as links to all the existing analyses Berkeley reviewed and supplemental information with detailed model descriptions at the UC Berkeley Web site.

• United States Department of Agriculture Reports and Papers
  This section of the USDA site contains reports and papers relating to the net energy balance of ethanol, costs to produce this fuel, and the economics related to producing biofuels.

• A Rebuttal to "Ethanol Fuels: Energy, Economics and Environmental Impacts"
  This is a summary and review of an article by Dr. David Pimentel, who argues that, ethanol from corn does take more energy to produce than is contained in the final ethanol product. The author of the rebuttal, however, disagrees; see the "Discussion" section for his point of view.

• Renewable Fuels Association's Position Paper: Ethanol's Positive Energy Balance

• Renewable Fuels Association's Energy Balance Resources

• Effects of Fuel Ethanol Use on Fuel-Cycle Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions (PDF 329 KB)
  This study shows that, for corn-based ethanol, E85 achieves about a 73-75% reduction in petroleum use (depending on whether dry or wet milling is the production technology) and a 35% reduction in fossil energy use. For GHG emissions, E85 produced by dry milling achieves a 19% reduction, and E85 produced by wet milling achieves a 14% reduction.

• Energy and Environmental Aspects of Using Corn Stover for Fuel Ethanol (PDF 1.7 MB) This paper discusses the celulosic ethanol energy balance and presents results based on a life-cycle model that incorporates results from individual models for soil carbon dynamics, soil erosion, agronomics of stover collection and transport, and bioconversion of stover to ethanol.

• Ethanol's Energy Return on Investment: A Survey of the Literature 1990 - Present (PDF 290 KB)
  An objective look at the disagreement on energy return on investment of ethanol manufacture that compares data sets from ten different studies.

• Ethanol: Separating Fact from Fiction (PDF 472 KB)

Source: Department of Energy