The research report also found that:
- Ethanol production could to increase 90% by the year 2012.
- The number of ethanol plants is targeted to climb from 97 to 132 in
just the next 12 months.
- The number of service stations offering ethanol is projected to double
this year.
- States have considerable untapped reserves of energy that could enable
the United States to achieve energy independence. South Dakota alone
could produce enough ethanol to become the third-largest exporter of
energy after Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Despite the perceived shortcomings of ethanol - that it is not energy- efficient - the Smart Options E-Report study found that the industry is drawing billions of dollars in seed money from the biggest names in investment banking. They include Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, which recently plowed $30 million into a Canadian biotech. The company hasn't even begun producing ethanol yet, but officials at the company, who will be teaming up with Goldman Sachs, believe the company is on the cutting edge of developing cellulosic ethanol, a potentially more refined and efficient form of ethanol than the product that is produced from corn.
Another group of investors led by Stephan Dolezalek, managing director of VantagePoint Venture partners, recently plowed $181 million into the industry.
"This is a sector that can be every bit as big as the Internet," Dolezalek said.
To read more about Ethanol, click on the link http://www.smartoptionsreport.com/press/sor/ethanol1.html
