?EUR??,,????'??Corn prices are making the feasibility of ethanol plants every day more and more questionable,?EUR??,,????'?? said Alex Moglia, president of Moglia Advisors in suburban Chicago, which helps biofuel companies restructure.

Meanwhile prices for soy oil, the feedstock for most biodiesel plants, have been been high on rising global demand for months, making life miserable for most producers. The miserable profit margins have pushed many makers of the alternative motor fuel to run plants at only about half of their capacity. Moglia said about 12 small to midsize biodiesel and ethanol plants have declared bankruptcy in recent months. Renova Energy LLC, a company that owns a partially built 20 million-gallons-per year ethanol plant in Idaho, was the latest to declare bankruptcy last week. Kansas-based Ethanex Energy Inc declared bankruptcy in March. ?EUR??,,????'??There will be more to follow,?EUR??,,????'?? said Moglia. Some plants are restructuring their debt and taking steps to manage risks, but many others are not, he said.

The giant oil industry, which is required by renewable- and clean-fuel mandates to mix the blendstock into gasoline, has done its best to buy ethanol at low prices. Ethanol supplies have been glutted in the Midwest as the industry works to ease transportation to the coasts, another factor keeping a lid on ethanol prices. The discount to gasoline, construction costs and tight credit markets mean ?EUR??,,????'??we are likely to see more plant delays and more ethanol producers filing for bankruptcy protection soon,?EUR??,,????'?? Credit Suisse said in a research note this week.