Biofuels like ethanol add to this country's energy security by diversifying our fuel supplies and reducing the dependence on foreign oil.
Another voice in this point is that of Neil Moseman, director of the Nebraska Energy Office. In this news release, Moseman said energy security includes everything from preventing energy price shocks to reducing an over reliance on energy sources from unstable parts of the world.
“By producing more energy domestically, in this case a renewable fuel, we’re not only diversifying our fuel supply, but we’re reducing our dependence on foreign petroleum at the same time,” Moseman said. “These are critical components and important considerations when discussing ethanol or any renewable fuel.”
Over reliance on foreign sources of oil is problematic whether oil prices are low or high. “When prices are low, you are still open to the possibility that something will disrupt the supply,” Moseman said. “When prices are high, you still have that disruption possibility, but you also have the economic harm that comes with hundreds of billions of dollars leaving the United States for other parts of the world.”
This news ties in nicely with another recent point - that estimates for the energy balance of corn-based ethanol are much more favorable - in fact 2-3 times more favorable than previous estimates." (Also note tht it says 13 gallons of ethanol are produced for every gallon of petroleum used in the production life cycle for corn ethanol.)
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