20th March 2008

Gulf Ethanol Corporation personnel attending the WIREC conference in Washington DC met with industry leaders to discuss the future of Ethanol and Bio-fuel.

Driven by a combination of legislation and regulatory initiatives, as well as by economic and environmental trends, it is estimated that $7 Trillion in new investment expected to flow into the alternative energy industry before 2030 Gulf Ethanol is positioning itself to ride this rising tide as it seeks to develop cellulosic ethanol technologies.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the University of Nebraska found that cellulose feed stocks can produce 540% more energy than is consumed in their production. Corn ethanol has been criticized by some as energy inefficient because it produces only 25% more energy than it takes to make it. Cellulose changes the energy equation for ethanol production. A five times energy output to energy input will make ethanol a very efficient renewable fuel.

Companies like VeraSun have seen their quarterly revenue skyrocket to $312 million from the prior years $146.5 million. Although demand for ethanol is increasing, corn based ethanol companies have experienced large declines in profitability. "Alternative biofuels constitute a critical component of America's alternative energy future and GFET is positioning itself to be a leader in cellulosic production of ethanol from non-food bio-mass," noted JT Cloud, CEO of Gulf Ethanol.

"WIREC (Washington International Renewable Energy Conference, www.wirec2008.gov/wps/portal/wirec2008) provided Gulf Ethanol the opportunity to discuss future funding with investment sources and to evaluate emerging technologies to integrate into their plans," concluded Mr. Cloud.

Market leaders include agricultural ethanol producers such as ADM, Cargill and soybean processor Bunge Limited. As the initial corn-based ethanol plants proved to be inefficient, the market quickly realized that the future of biofuels would depend on the ability to turn non-food biomass into alternative fuels efficiently. With large energy companies such as Conoco Philips, also launching alternative fuel initiatives, Gulf Ethanol is perfectly positioned in the path of progress.

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