Is ethanol blend 'greener' than gasoline?

Does commercially available ethanol-blended fuel produce cleaner emissions than regular gasoline? Most people would think so.

The federal government has committed $2 billion in incentives for ethanol. Ethanol is made from crops such as wheat and corn.

What do the scientists say?

'Not much difference' say scientists at Environment Canada, who ran tests on four different vehicles. Looking at the tailpipe emissions from a greenhouse gas perspecive, there wasn't much difference between regular gasoline and 10% ethanol blend. They did find a reduction in carbon monoxide (which helps produce smog). Emissions from other gases, such as hydrocarbons, actually increased in some cases.

If you look at the big picture instead of just tailpipe emissions, however, there may be some benefits. Ethanol comes from a source that is a renewable resource (like forestry), and that has to be taken into account. Even at a 10% blend, that is 10% less oil and gas that has to be discovered and manufactured, which isn't a clean process itself. Almost anything that reduces the world's dependence on oil is probably a good thing at this stage of the game.

Also, if we are already at 10% blend, who is to say it can't get to 20%, 30%, etc. What will the results be then? Blended-fuel technology has to keep moving forward.

A year ago I never would have thought there would be this much public debate going on about green and environmental issues. It is one of the dominant issues in mainstream media now, probably because people are demanding change.

So in the end, it does help to look at the big picture.

British Columbia Clean Energy Plan

Today the government of the province of British Columbia outlined their Clean Energy Plan.

The news release states that the Province will require zero net greenhouse gas emissions from all new electricity projects and will support the development of clean energy technology.

Many targets were announced relating to clean energy, and the target dates ranged from 2010 to 2020. The highlights that stood out for me include:

Zero greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired electricity generation.
Coal has always been thought of as a dirty energy source, but new technologies will allow coal to be used more efficiently and cleanly.

An ambitious target to acquire 50 per cent of BC Hydro’s incremental resource needs through conservation by 2020.
They had set an earlier target of about 30%, but now it is bumped up to 50%. According to the government document, current per household electricity consumption for BC Hydro customers is about 10,000 Kwh per year. Achieving this conservation target will see electricity use per household decline to approximately 9,000 Kwh per year by 2020.

The new BC Bioenergy Strategy will take advantage of B.C.’s abundant sources of renewable energy, such as beetle-killed timber, wood wastes and agricultural residues.
It is great to see a positive proposal for wood fibre that previously would have gone unused. The wood quality of lodgepole pine killed by mountain pine beetle deteriorates within a few years if it is left standing in the forest (if timber is harvested soon after beetle attack the wood quality is still fine). Beetle wood that is no longer suitable for lumber may still prove useful in bioenergy.

I am not sure how realistic the government's targets are, but it's encouraging to see them presenting some large scale initiatives towards energy conservation and cleaner fuels. Future governments will have to continue addressing these targets, as the bar has now been set.

For more information on the BC Energy Plan visit: http://energyplan.gov.bc.ca