Ethanol's Tough Times Continue

It doesn't look like the ethanol industry is going to get relief from its pain any time soon, according to a panel of investors at the Dow Jones Alternative Energy Innovations conference in Redwood City, Calif., earlier this week.

The industry has seen margins shrink and stock prices fall, and companies such as VeraSun have pulled back on plans to increase their ethanol production.

When it comes to corn-based ethanol in the United Sates, "government and corporate support are being largely dictated by congressmen and senators from Iowa versus true scientists," he said. Iowa is one of the largest produces of ethanol in the country.

Ethanol doesn't make sense in many cases and fails to address numerous problems that the fuel is supposed to help solve, he said.

Among the biggest hopes for U.S.-produced ethanol is its ability to curb the country's dependence on foreign oil. President George W. Bush has supported such efforts, calling for 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels by 2017.

Jason Berkes