Green Options

The downturn in the national economy has hit just about every major industry. And now it seems that ethanol is no exception. Yesterday, Archer Daniels Midland Co., or ADM, a major U.S. producer of ethanol, stated that ethanol production in the U.S. has dropped 21% since last year. Falling oil prices, a decrease in overall demand, and low profit margins are to blame.

What if I told you the Federal Government would be paying to experimentally inject 1 million tons of carbon dioxide into the ground under Illinois? And what if I said the CO2 would by supplied by an ethanol plant owned and operated by Archer Daniels Midland (ADM)?

You’d say I was crazy, right?

On Tuesday, the Department of Energy awarded $66.7 million to investigate large-scale carbon sequestration programs in Illinois. The money was awarded to the Midwest Geological Sequestration Consortium, one of seven regional carbon sequestration partnerships funded by the DOE and consisting of private businesses, state entities, and local universities in the Illionois-Kentucky-Indiana geographic region. This is all part of the DOE’s 10-year initiative to establish and commercialize carbon sequestration.