The cellulosic ethanol delusion.

• Author: Bryce, Robert
• Position: Viewpoint essay

For years, ethanol boosters have promised Americans that "cellulosic" ethanol lurks just ahead, right past the nearest service station. Once it becomes viable, this magic elixir--made from grass, wood chips, sawdust, or some other plant material--will deliver us from the evil clutches of foreign oil and make the US "energy independent" while enriching farmers and strengthening small towns across the country.

Consider this claim: "From our cellulose waste products on the farm such as straw, corn-stalks, corn cobs and all similar sorts of material we throw away, we can get, by present known methods, enough alcohol to run our automotive equipment in the United States."

That sounds like something you've heard recently, right? Well, fasten your seatbelt because that claim was made way back in 1921. That's when American inventor Thomas Midgley proclaimed the wonders of cellulosic ethanol to the Society of Automotive Engineers in Indianapolis. And while Midgley was excited about the prospect of cellulosic ethanol, he admitted that there was a significant hurdle to his concept: producing the fuel would cost about $2 per gallon. That's about $20 per gallon in current money.

Alas, what's old is new again.

I wrote about the myriad problems of cellulosic ethanol in my book Gusher of Lies. But the hype over the fuel continues unabated. And it continues even though two of the most prominent cellulosic ethanol companies in the US, Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings and Verenium Corporation, are teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.

The looming collapse of the cellulosic ethanol producers deserves more than passing notice for this reason: cellulosic ethanol--which has never been produced in commercial quantities--has been relentlessly hyped over the past few years by a panoply of politicians and promoters.

The list of politicos includes Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, President Barack Obama, former vice president Al Gore, former Republican presidential nominee John McCain, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and former CIA director James Woolsey.

There are plenty of others who deserve to take a bow for their role in promoting the delusion of cellulosic ethanol. Prominent among them: billionaire investor/technologist Vinod Khosla. In 2006, Khosla claimed that making motor fuel out of cellulose was "brain dead simple to do." He went on, telling NBC's Stone Phillips that cellulosic ethanol was "just around the corner" and that it would be a much bigger source of fuel than corn ethanol. Khosla also proclaimed that by making ethanol from...