Cilion, a venture-backed ethanol startup, has fallen at the intersection of a vc and policy love triangle. The company, which was founded in May 2006, is backed by Vinod Khosla, Richard Branson, and Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Companies. That would be the same Yucaipa Companies where Bill Clinton is a senior advisor. In September 2006, Khosla, Branson, and Burkle appeared with Bill at the Clinton Global Initiative fund raiser, shortly after Cilion announced it had raised $160 million. Though Yucaipa claims it invested less than five percent of its equity in the ethanol company, this is still a substantial amount given the amount of cash Yucaipa has under management. And then there's Hillary. Her Senate office has been busy in upstate New York clearing the way for that area's nascent ethanol industry. Of the seven plants Cilion plans to build in the near future, two are slated for the Rochester area. Jerry Wilhelm, a Cilion VP, is reportedly overjoyed with the amount of support he's received from Hillary, included letters of support she's purportedly written that have helped the company in the permitting process. Yucaipa denies the existence of any such letters. Mascoma, a Khosla-backed venture, also has a plant planned for the Rochester area. While Yucaipa denies Bill stands to profit from their investment in Cilion, he has invested in another Khosla-backed ethanol operation in Brazil through Yucaipa. Confusing? Yes. But what about the murky, clouded pool of ethanol that is the biofuel world isn't confusing?