By Bruce Henderson
bhenderson@charlotteobserver.com
bhenderson@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Tuesday, May. 24, 2011
A crew member pulls a gas can during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 in February. Backed by the Obama and Bush administrations, ethanol is touted as a renewable fuel that creates jobs and lowers greenhouse gas emissions. Chris Graythen - GETTY
NASCAR is racing into the debate over ethanol, the American-made fuel that's hailed as a step toward energy independence and derided as a boondoggle that may drive up food costs.
The teams in Charlotte this week will burn an ethanol-gasoline blend called E15, which NASCAR is using this season for the first time. The 15 percent ethanol fuel was recently approved for use in most passenger vehicles and is expected to be available at pumps by late this year.
The switch takes stock car racing full circle. Legendary drivers such as Junior Johnson honed their skills hauling illicit loads of moonshine distilled from corn mash. Most U.S. ethanol is also made of corn.
"There's no sport more American than NASCAR, and there's no fuel more American than ethanol," said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, which promotes ethanol and partnered with the racing body.
Backed by the Obama and Bush administrations, ethanol is touted as a renewable fuel that creates jobs and lowers greenhouse gas emissions. Government mandates have steadily increased its use to about 10 percent of all motor fuel.
But a bipartisan array of critics, from economists to food analysts, say ethanol doesn't look so good behind the patriotic bunting.
Heavy government subsidies, they say, are mostly a gift to corn farmers and fuel producers. The $5.7billion in ethanol tax credits this year "is largely unneeded today to ensure demand for domestic ethanol production" since its use is already required, the Government Accountability Office reported in March.
Some economists link rising corn prices, which could affect the cost of sweeteners, meat and exports, to increased demand for the grain to make fuel. More than 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop this year will go to ethanol and its byproducts, such as distillers' grains.
NASCAR and its ethanol partners say the criticism is off base.
E15 is part of a campaign NASCAR launched in 2008 to blunt the sport's environmental impact. The nation's top spectator sport draws an average of 100,000 fans to each of the 36 Sprint Cup Series races.
"Two-and-a-half years ago there may have been a couple of sponsors that were engaged in green issues.
Now it's virtually all of them," said Mike Lynch, NASCAR's green-innovation director. "At this point it's become so much of the fabric of the sport that it's become almost a default expectation."
NASCAR and tracks have increased recycling of trash, oil and tires, built energy-efficient structures such as Charlotte's NASCAR Plaza office tower and planted trees to offset carbon dioxide emissions.
Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania is building a 25-acre solar farm. Concord-based Roush Fenway Racing recycles 96 percent of every race car.
Doug Duchardt, vice president of development at Hendrick Motorsports in Concord, said the high-octane E15 has boosted engine horsepower a little but yielded 2 percent to 3 percent fewer miles per gallon.
"It has been one of the easiest transitions that we've undergone," he said. "The fact that we're using fuel that's closer to the fuel our fans are using makes it more relevant to them. I think it's a really good thing."
Corrosion, import issues
The Environmental Protection Agency approved the use of E15 in model 2001 or later vehicles in January. It's not expected to reach consumer pumps for months.
That's because ethanol has another problem: It corrodes gas lines, tanks, pumps and injectors more than regular gasoline. Retailers might be wary of damaging cars and equipment, federal officials say.
Carmaker warranties don't allow blends higher than 10 percent ethanol, although "flex-fuel" models can use an 85 percent ethanol blend.
North Carolina's plan to promote biofuels, which are made from organic materials, specifically rules out corn-based ethanol. That's in part because the state already imports more corn than it grows.
"The food-versus-fuel issues were really tied to corn ethanol," said Steve Wall, policy director at the Biofuels Center of North Carolina. "If you look at other crops that are not food crops, biofuels have a clear advantage."
Last month, the center handed out $1.5million in grants to develop fuels from waste wood, trash, energy grasses, sorghum, loblolly pines and cooking oil.
Near Raleigh, a company called Novozymes is headed down a similar path.
Novozymes produces enzymes that turn starches into sugars that are used to make corn-based ethanol. Sunoco, which makes the E15 that NASCAR is using, is a customer.
But Novozymes scientists are also creating enzymes that can break down the tough fibers in corn stalks, timber scraps or non-edible crops such as switchgrass. The cheap, abundant materials are turned into a corn alternative called cellulosic ethanol.
"We've been able to make cellulosic ethanol for a long time," said Cynthia Bryant, director of global business development. "The challenge is in making it economically viable, to compete with the gasoline market."
The government is likely to again play a powerful role. Federal standards say fuel suppliers will have to blend 36billion gallons a year of biofuels into gasoline by 2022. But only 15billion gallons can come from corn ethanol. Advanced fuels such as cellulosic ethanol will supply the rest.
NASCAR says it will be following developments.
The teams in Charlotte this week will burn an ethanol-gasoline blend called E15, which NASCAR is using this season for the first time. The 15 percent ethanol fuel was recently approved for use in most passenger vehicles and is expected to be available at pumps by late this year.
The switch takes stock car racing full circle. Legendary drivers such as Junior Johnson honed their skills hauling illicit loads of moonshine distilled from corn mash. Most U.S. ethanol is also made of corn.
"There's no sport more American than NASCAR, and there's no fuel more American than ethanol," said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy, which promotes ethanol and partnered with the racing body.
Backed by the Obama and Bush administrations, ethanol is touted as a renewable fuel that creates jobs and lowers greenhouse gas emissions. Government mandates have steadily increased its use to about 10 percent of all motor fuel.
But a bipartisan array of critics, from economists to food analysts, say ethanol doesn't look so good behind the patriotic bunting.
Heavy government subsidies, they say, are mostly a gift to corn farmers and fuel producers. The $5.7billion in ethanol tax credits this year "is largely unneeded today to ensure demand for domestic ethanol production" since its use is already required, the Government Accountability Office reported in March.
Some economists link rising corn prices, which could affect the cost of sweeteners, meat and exports, to increased demand for the grain to make fuel. More than 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop this year will go to ethanol and its byproducts, such as distillers' grains.
NASCAR and its ethanol partners say the criticism is off base.
E15 is part of a campaign NASCAR launched in 2008 to blunt the sport's environmental impact. The nation's top spectator sport draws an average of 100,000 fans to each of the 36 Sprint Cup Series races.
"Two-and-a-half years ago there may have been a couple of sponsors that were engaged in green issues.
Now it's virtually all of them," said Mike Lynch, NASCAR's green-innovation director. "At this point it's become so much of the fabric of the sport that it's become almost a default expectation."
NASCAR and tracks have increased recycling of trash, oil and tires, built energy-efficient structures such as Charlotte's NASCAR Plaza office tower and planted trees to offset carbon dioxide emissions.
Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania is building a 25-acre solar farm. Concord-based Roush Fenway Racing recycles 96 percent of every race car.
Doug Duchardt, vice president of development at Hendrick Motorsports in Concord, said the high-octane E15 has boosted engine horsepower a little but yielded 2 percent to 3 percent fewer miles per gallon.
"It has been one of the easiest transitions that we've undergone," he said. "The fact that we're using fuel that's closer to the fuel our fans are using makes it more relevant to them. I think it's a really good thing."
Corrosion, import issues
The Environmental Protection Agency approved the use of E15 in model 2001 or later vehicles in January. It's not expected to reach consumer pumps for months.
That's because ethanol has another problem: It corrodes gas lines, tanks, pumps and injectors more than regular gasoline. Retailers might be wary of damaging cars and equipment, federal officials say.
Carmaker warranties don't allow blends higher than 10 percent ethanol, although "flex-fuel" models can use an 85 percent ethanol blend.
North Carolina's plan to promote biofuels, which are made from organic materials, specifically rules out corn-based ethanol. That's in part because the state already imports more corn than it grows.
"The food-versus-fuel issues were really tied to corn ethanol," said Steve Wall, policy director at the Biofuels Center of North Carolina. "If you look at other crops that are not food crops, biofuels have a clear advantage."
Last month, the center handed out $1.5million in grants to develop fuels from waste wood, trash, energy grasses, sorghum, loblolly pines and cooking oil.
Near Raleigh, a company called Novozymes is headed down a similar path.
Novozymes produces enzymes that turn starches into sugars that are used to make corn-based ethanol. Sunoco, which makes the E15 that NASCAR is using, is a customer.
But Novozymes scientists are also creating enzymes that can break down the tough fibers in corn stalks, timber scraps or non-edible crops such as switchgrass. The cheap, abundant materials are turned into a corn alternative called cellulosic ethanol.
"We've been able to make cellulosic ethanol for a long time," said Cynthia Bryant, director of global business development. "The challenge is in making it economically viable, to compete with the gasoline market."
The government is likely to again play a powerful role. Federal standards say fuel suppliers will have to blend 36billion gallons a year of biofuels into gasoline by 2022. But only 15billion gallons can come from corn ethanol. Advanced fuels such as cellulosic ethanol will supply the rest.
NASCAR says it will be following developments.
Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/05/24/2323550/nascar-drives-into-debate-on-ethanol.html#ixzz1Nbw7XN3B
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