Yes indeed! Ethanol at >$3.00/gallon in a scalable production format would be a very significant development.  My calculations indicate that, at $100/B a  square mile of facility could generate >$6,000,000/year.  This would provide a strong incentive to build and a strong incentive to develop algae that could produce butanol, which would have the same energy density as gasoline. An awful lot of landowners within a mile or so of a coast would be interested in growing ethanol or butanol.  Competitive pressures would likely improve efficiency and drive the price down still further.

 

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."