Monday, November 20, 2006

Ethanol Industry Growth to Slow, ISU Experts Say

The DesMoines Register reports: Look for a slowdown in the rapid expansion of the ethanol industry, Iowa State University economists cautioned Monday.

Increased costs and delays in ethanol plant construction, transportation bottlenecks in moving ethanol to market, and rapidly rising corn prices all signal that the expansion of the ethanol industry might be cooling, the ISU economists said in a webcast that originated from the ISU campus.

John Miranowski, an ISU economics professor said, The price of crude oil - and the resulting price of gasoline - is expected to remain at levels that make ethanol production profitable.

It is time to take a break in building new ethanol plants, until cellulosic ethanol processes are economical.

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