Oh, the poor ethanol industry figures. Maligned for their reliance on corn, blamed for rising food prices and having to resort to subsidized fuel sales to attract attention, ethanol is an easy target these days.. Ethanol can't even get any love from the chickens. Last week, ethanol promoters gathered in Nashville to lash out at OPEC and Big Oil, and to figure out how ethanol will fare in the coming years. Around 4,000 people attended the 2008 Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo, according to organizers BBI. There is a lengthy video of the opening session now available online here.

In the video, the president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association,Bob Dinneen, breaks into a bit of a tirade about the oil industry. Dinneen's message is that the oil companies are waging war against renewables through paid-for studies and newspaper editorials. The ethanol industry's solution? Mandate that all new vehicles in the U.S. be E85-capable (we assume they mean all current gasoline-powered vehicles). Author Robert Zubrin said this would drive gas prices down to $50 a barrel. I say if cellulosic ethanol companies can make good on their promises to sell ethanol for something like $2 a gallon, you won't need a mandate to get all cars to be E85-ready.

An AutoblogGreen reader from Down Under has let us know that E85 fuel will most likely finally be available in Australia next year. A specific date isn't set, but United Petroleum seems set to sell the ethanol-petrol blend in "early 2008" at the price of about $1AUS per liter, starting around Melbourne and Sydney.

The ethanol-pusher in this case was Saab, which has been selling an E85-capable 9-5 in Australis for $1,000 more than the standard version, without any E85 available for people to put into the tank.

Related:

• Australians can now buy carbon-neutral car insurance
• Why Bush failed to reach a deal on ethanol with Australia
• Australian Biodiesel Group finding local market tough

[Source: Drive.com.au via Alt Fuels Australia, h/t to Nathan]