BP Invests in Cellulosic Ethanol
BP (
BP) is one of those Big Oil companies that has invested a great deal of advertising money into convincing people that it is diversifying in the name of the earth (you know, "beyond petroleum"). BP seems especially interested in
biofuels. The company has been known to invest in
jatropha, as well as biofuel ventures in various countries.
And now BP is upping its investment in ethanol. The company just announced that BP plans to invest $90 million over the next year and a half into Verenium (
VRNM), a producer of cellulosic ethanol. Verenium's goal is to build the first commercial cellulosic ethanol site in the United States. However,
Earth2Tech reports that being the first commercial cellulosic ethanol site may not be all its cracked up to be:
Though one thing to remember with all this “racing to be first to build cellulosic ethanol plants in the United States” is that the ethanol market has gotten considerably more difficult as of late. The price of corn has gone sky high and the political landscape has started to move away from supporting biofuels.
BP's focus on biofuels, especially ethanol, may not help the company in the long run. With other alternative energy sources receiving wider support, it might be wiser to diversify into something else.
Disclosure: I do not own BP or VRNM.
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