”Record Oil Prices and Washington’s Desire for Energy Independence”

…Ethanol is the key to Washington’s desired energy independence. A growable and renewable energy source is promoted as the remedy to energy geopolitics, or at the very least a key to restructuring the existing geopolitical order. Washington is keenly interested in Brazil’s ethanol production, where an abundance of sugar cane sustains a booming industry that promises to transform the South American country into a major energy producer in the 21st century.

In March 2007, the United States and Brazil agreed to collaborate on ethanol research and development, and in establishing codes and standards that will shape the future of the industry. Brazil hopes to increase output by ten percent annually and produce three-quarters of the world’s ethanol within five years.


While at present ethanol output in the United States and Brazil are comparable, the maturity of the latter’s industry and the comparative ease of producing fuel from sugar cane as opposed to corn will allow Brazilian output to greatly outpace U.S. production in the coming years. As U.S. lawmakers push for higher fuel efficiency standards and increased reliance on flex fuels, it appears likely that, in the short term, U.S. demand will outstrip supply and result in the United States having to import ethanol from Brazil.

Unconventional Fossil Fuels

A recent report by the Task Force on Strategic Unconventional Fuels examines the feasibility of Washington’s aspirations for energy independence. The U.S. Congress established the panel in 2005 to “develop a program to coordinate and accelerate the commercial development of strategic unconventional fuels, including, but not limited to, oil shale and tar sands resources within the United States.”

PINR