Why Wal-Mart wants to sell ethanol

NEW YORK (Fortune) — More than 5 million vehicles on U.S. roads today can run on ethanol – a renewable fuel that comes from corn – as well as gasoline. General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler recently announced plans to double their annual production of so-called flex fuel vehicles to two million cars and trucks by 2010.

It’s the single largest commitment to renewable fuels in the history of the auto industry – a good move for the automakers, and for the planet, too.

That’s because running cars and trucks on E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, could turn out to be a cost-effective way to reduce the carbon emissions that cause global warming and curb our dependence on imported oil.

There’s just one big problem.

Fortune