Growing algae as a source of biofuels has been a topic of research for a few decades I do believe. Look up the DOE NREL Final Report on Algae Biodiesel from a few years ago. Overall, it is the most promising biofuel feedstock. Reefers know from experience it is the most aggressively growing thing in their tank.
Corn became the fuel crop of choice in this country because of the farm lobby with senators in their pockets and powerful corporations like ADM.
Large agribusinesses (not so much small farmers) already got subsidies for corn for the past several decades, but now are also getting subsidies for producing ethanol with that corn.
The ones who stand to gain the most, again, are those corporations who consume large quantities of corn each year (ie ADM) who thus have access to a tax payer subsidized raw material and the large producers of that corn, who have a higher price for their product.
The losers are everyone who use to eat the derivatives of that corn - basically all processed food, anything with high fructose corn syrup, or any of the other 100 food-like materials used in processed food.
