The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and West Virginia University have begun working together to study the potential for growing switchgrass on sites of former surface mines across the state.

Switchgrass is a tall grass that grows from three- to ten-feet tall, has a deep root system and grows annually after harvesting. It is often used to rehabilitate exhausted croplands by rebuilding soil structure, nutrients and organic matter. Switchgrass can also be converted to ethanol, which is a flammable alcohol and can be made by fermenting plant products such as corn, barley, wood and straw.

"Last year, 20 percent of the U.S. corn crop was used to produce five billion gallons of ethanol, which is about one percent of petroleum consumption in the United States," said Paul Ziemkiewicz, PhD, with the WVU Water Research Institute. "If our entire corn crop went to ethanol production, it would only replace seven percent of our annual petroleum use. In addition to competing for limited cropland, corn-based ethanol production consumes nearly as much energy as it produces."

According to a recent report by the National Academy of Science, the net energy yield of switchgrass ethanol was about six times better than corn ethanol.

"While corn ethanol will continue to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we clearly need to develop additional sources for ethanol production," said Governor Joe Manchin III. "This study is designed to provide us the information we need to determine whether developing a switchgrass-based industry in West Virginia is the direction we want to go."

"Large surface mines can range from 1,000 to 12,000 acres; many have road networks, access to transportation, water, utilities and even locations for ethanol processing facilities," said Ken Ellison, Director of the WVDEP Division of Land Restoration. "But first, we need to know how many tons of switchgrass hay will be produced on an acre of mined land, track developments in ethanol conversion technology and the economics of ethanol production and processing."

  The project will be managed by the Water Research Institute at WVU. The researchers will test the performance of three switchgrass varieties in large, ten-acre plots in both northern and southern West Virginia. Hay yields and carbon sequestration will be measured over a seven-year period; and researchers will document costs related to switchgrass plot establishment, harvesting and maintenance.  

"This project is an example of the DEP's continuing effort to find productive uses for mine lands," said Stephanie Timmermeyer, Cabinet Secretary for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection. "If we discover that growing switchgrass on these lands is a successful endeavor, it is the perfect example of an enterprising and environmentally healthy use of those lands."