Richard Branson is diving into the Ethanol market by promising $400 million in investments for alternative energy, according to Bloomberg. Let’s hope he also supports biodiesel and hybrid/electric technology for vehicles, but so far it looks like just more of the same Ethanol hype:

Cilion, which was formed in 2006, builds and runs factories producing ethanol, an alcohol derived from plants. The company plans to build as many as seven plants with capacity to produce as much as 440 million gallons a day of ethanol by 2009. The first three units will be built in California, Branson said.

Branson plans to expand the investment program, which will also target other forms of alternative energy, into the U.K., Europe and other parts of the world, he said.