York ethanol plant project bears watching

An ethanol project in York bears watching.

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded a $17 million grant to a Spanish company, Abengoa Bioenergy, for an experimental plant to make ethanol from plant fibers like cornstalks, switchgrass, wood and wheat straw.

Company spokesman Tom Robb says the technology is five to seven years away, and once the details are worked out at York, the research may be sold to other processors.

The company plans to build a cellulosic ethanol plant in Kansas using a $77 million Department of Energy grant. That production is expected to start in 2010.

Corn-based ethanol is a bright spot in Southwest Nebraska's economy, and will continue to be so for years to come.

But some criticize the use of a food product, corn, to produce energy that we only waste in our big pickup trucks and SUVs. And, growing corn requires a lot of water, something that's in short supply along the Republican River.

Using leftover cornstalks or wheat straw, or plants that take little water, like switchgrass, makes sense in Nebraska. Even wood can make sense when there's an oversupply, as might happen with the effort to remove excess trees from along the river, or following events like last winter's ice storm.

Because of the special circumstances in Southwest Nebraska it's wise for us to keep our ethanol options open.