Is developing bioenergy such as fuel ethanol under current circumstances just a conceptual hype?

It’s purely hype; there is no economic benefit at this stage.

Although there is no economic advantage at the moment, it is definitely a trend, and surely some people will take advantage of it for speculation; however, this trend of development cannot be stopped. As a renewable energy source, it is worth investing in; of course, it can also be used to produce bio-based chemicals.

Fuel ethanol in bioenergy is, at least for now, more than just a hype. Corn in its raw form needs to be transformed into products with relatively high added value in order to boost the price of this main staple crop and provide farmers with sustained motivation to increase production and earnings. Converting large amounts of corn into fuel ethanol is one of the key roles of this process, and such a role cannot be ignored at present. Knowing when to stop is a matter of degree. Of course, from an operational perspective, it’s not certain that farmers see much increase in income; it’s still the middlemen who reap most of the profits. But if the issue of unsold grain isn’t addressed, the problem will be even worse; at the very least, farmers need to be willing to continue growing grain each year. This post was last edited by eboy3065 on 2009-3-27 17:04.]

Concept hype? A great deal of capital and manpower has been invested globally; in my opinion, this is the direction in which things will develop in the future

It’s a hype-driven concept, because the food crisis is worse than the energy crisis

Biomass energy is by no means a hype; the current issue lies in the conflict between technology and resource development. There are technical difficulties in utilizing many non-grain materials, but this trend is inevitable. I’m personally optimistic!