Flashgordon

You seem to be judging biofuels on the current status of the technology. I think it more pertinent to make a judgment based on the potential of cellulose based biofuels. Then they tend to complement food production instead of competing with it. They would also offer great autonomy to many by taking away a reliance on oil importation.

It is a shame to see so many critical of a technology with considerable potential. I would like to see what the potential of biofuel is, rather than condemn it before the research has been done. Nobody seems to mention that the oil price has risen only recently. Prior to this the price, and more importantly the DOE's low price predictions for the coming decades, meant that there was practically no research into alternative fuels. Now it's different.

Fester raises a very valid point. We haven't scratched the surface yet,
when it comes to the potential of biofuels. Just 8 years ago, oil
was still trading as low as 10$, no wonder little was invested.

Things like algae, etc, hold huge potential, but it will take time
and technology to develop these alternatives.

Biofuels don't need to be "THE" answer, but just one of a myriad
of energy sources of the future, along with solar, wind, and a number
of others. Future energy production lies in diversity, not in
one particular magic bullet.

Yabby

Commercial production of ethanol from cellulose may be less than two years away.

http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9811702-54.html?tag=nefd.lede

But of more interest to me is the production of biofuels other than ethanol from a sugar feedstock using processes other than fermentation. This route could produce fuels far superior to ethanol, and more rapidly than fermentation.

http://www.farmonline.com.au/news_daily.asp?ag_id=47107

Fester, there is apparently a similar plant being built in Aus,
using US technology, so there could be a tie up with your
story there.

I still like the potential of algae. You need CO2 to get them
to really grow. That makes more sense to me, then trying to pump
the stuff back into the ground. Production with the right species
and conditions, is quite amazing, by what I have read.