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Old 01-15-2008, 11:11 PM   #3 (permalink)
radman1
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: midwest
Posts: 1,474
Default Re: Bio fuels... not the Holy Grail?

Quote:
Originally Posted by SkyPup
Wall Street Journal also mentioned that the alternative biofuels market will be the next economic market to collaspe and tank out as it is overly infused with cash and unprofitable without government subsidies.
I live in Nebraska farm country and there are a lot of ethanol plants in this state. Many investors poured a lot of money into it and the goverment help and lack of taxation created the big push. Big tax incentives also given by state gov't. One recent plant near my farm land utilizes 250 semi loads of corn everyday, all year long. Others are bigger. Corn was under $2/bushel when it all started but now at $4.50/bushel. Ethanol can't make any profit unless gas prices climb much higher. All proformas were based on $2 corn. New ethanol plants have come to a screeching halt. I knew this was going to happen. I tried to tell many investors to put money elsewhere. Great for the farmers at this time but bubble will burst. I suspect many plants will go bankrupt and be resold and maybe then they will survive. An area plant opened 6 months ago and already bankrupt. Gov't is the only thing supporting ethanol plants. Soybeans are nearing $12/bushel-difficult to make biodiesel. Wheat is probably also at all time high. However, the effect on food prices is minimal since food processing, transportation and retail profits are the greatest cost of food production, not the basic ingredients.
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