New production method uses far less energy than it creates

Making alcohol fuel efficiently enough to help the USA move away from gasoline could involve a process with a cumbersome name: cellulosic ethanol production.

Just now in the demonstration stage, it has the potential to deliver ethanol using as little as one-tenth the energy that the fuel provides, according to a study by the University of California at Berkeley. Ethanol from corn, the most common source now, produces 26% more energy than it takes to make it, the study says. It takes more energy to make gasoline than gasoline yields.

USA Today