24th August 2006

GAINESVILLE - Florida needs to develop sources of renewable alternative energy to reduce its reliance on foreign oil and fossil fuels, U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez said Wednesday at an energy conference at the University of Florida.

Joined by oil industry executives, power company officials and University of Florida professors, Martinez and U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam heralded the use of ethanol. Other alternative energy sources such as solar and wind received only scant mention.

"We need to change our mind-set in the U.S. and get away from viewing drilling as the answer, and instead put our energies behind alternative fuels as the only way to a better future," Martinez said.

Some researchers, however, said the amount of ethanol produced makes up only a small portion of the nation's fuel supply and its production has some environmental impacts.

Martinez said there is only one commercial station in the state selling ethanol, although several companies have plans to produce ethanol from grain, sugar cane or corn.

"Making the choice to protect our coast from offshore drilling means that Florida has to put its money where its mouth is when it comes to finding alternative ways to run our cars and cool our homes. We can't have it both ways. That's why we're here today to discuss Florida's Road to Energy Independence - what will work, what we need to explore and how we get there."

Industry experts noted Florida uses about 8.6 billion gallons of gasoline each year, the third highest in the nation.

"It is a staggering consumption story," said Putnam, R-Fla., who said the country needs to "grow itself out" of the energy problem using crops and biomass to produce ethanol.

University of Minnesota professor Jason Hill, however, said if every kernel of corn in the country was made into ethanol, it would replace only 12 percent of the gasoline used in this country.

As a motor fuel, ethanol from corn produces a modest 25 percent more energy than is consumed - including from fossil fuels - in growing the corn, converting it into ethanol and shipping it for use in gasoline, his study showed.

Hill also said ethanol has environmental drawbacks, including "markedly greater" releases of nitrogen, phosphorous and pesticides into waterways as runoff from corn fields. Ethanol, especially at higher concentrations in gasoline, also produces more smog-causing pollutants than gasoline per unit of energy burned, the researchers said.

But Florida researchers are still touting ethanol, although no plants have yet come on line.

"It will take a massive effort to build all the plants we need," said Lonnie Ingrain, a University of Florida professor who has developed a process to make ethanol out of agricultural waste.

Buzz Hoover, president of Gate Ethanol, said the Jacksonville-based company plans to build an ethanol plant in north Florida that will initially produce 50 million gallons of ethanol a yearm, with plans to expand to 100 million.

The plant will supply ethanol to Gate stations across Florida and sell its excess.

Hoover and other oil company executives said they need incentives and tax breaks to keep the price competitive.

Clay Sell, deputy director of the U.S. Department of Energy, said the agency was planning on offering $2 billion in loan guarantees for alternate energy companies.

Mike O'Sullivan, senior vice president of FP&L Energy, said the Florida-based company is one of the largest producers of wind energy in the country, but pointed out that Florida's winds, while extreme at times, do not blow consistently enough to generate electricity.

Alan Banks, president and chief executive officer for Fort Lauderdale-based Losonoco, said his company was building three ethanol plants in the United States, including one in Florida.

"It's time to get out of the lab and into productivity," he said.