The proposed ethanol plant utilizing an abandoned grain elevator looks like a great re-use for the historical behemoth.  I have read extensively about the economics of an ethanol plant, especially one utilizing corn, and the costs far outweigh the benefits.  Judith Einach posted a detailed critique on her blog.  She also spoke about the hazardous ecological ramifications related to ethanol production.

At a time when various interests are trying to work for positive change in the City of Buffalo, it appears that the ethanol plant is a very dangerous and costly project.  It would be great to save a grain elevator or two, but not at the costs ethanol production entails.

The Buffalo News, today, has an article that extensively analyzes the probable environmental problems for the ethanol plant.

For instance, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has identified a number of hazardous emissions from these facilities, including a wide variety of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), voluble organic compounds (VOCs), methane, acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, methanol, toluene, solvents, denaturing compounds, sulfuric oxide, nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide.

Ethanol plants of similar size in the Midwest have been cited for releasing thousands of tons of these dangerous chemicals, many of which are linked to illness in humans, including cancers. Sulfur dioxide is classified by the EPA as a contributor to respiratory and heart disease and the generation of acid rain. Nitrogen oxides produce ozone and a wide variety of toxic chemicals as well as contributing to global warming, while many volatile organic compounds are cancer-causing.

Ethanol plants are a pie-in-the-sky solution for foreign oil dependence.  The economics just don’t add up.  The further evidence of environmental damage really makes this a no-brainer.  Putting a plant like this in the middle of an urban area is costly, dangerous and reprehensible.