In order to make ethanol from plant material the process requires energy to distill the ethanol. In the US this is usually provided by natural gas (although a new plant has opened that uses coal!).

There is also some question as to whether corn-based ethanol yields more energy than it takes to produce it.

My question: What is Brazil using as fuel for its ethanol production? Has ethanol shifted the balance to renewables or is it just a slight of hand like in the US?

Policies not Politics
---- Daily Landscape