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| Texas Biomass: Competing for Land |
Our
study shows that farmers could also produce animal feed protein at the same time they generate biofuels, enabling the land currently used to grow protein to also grow energy crops. Natural Resources Defense Council
Jump to: Biomass
Energy | Regional Differences | Crops for Fuel | Manure for Fuel | Electric Generation | Urban Biowastes | Ethanol | Biodiesel
Unlike most renewables, competition exists for both the biomass and the requisite land resource to grow it. Although many specialists envision a role for biomass in which it is grown extensively and solely for fuel (energy crops), most land used for biomass harvesting must have some valued dual use or co-product derived from the crop. Eventually, these concerns may be redressed by cellulosic enzyme technology, which is being actively pursued at federal and state levels, as well as in the private sector.
Land Requirements of Various Texas Energy Resources
Each square is sized to indicate the area needed to produce one quad of electricity or primary fuel. (One quad is enough to serve all annual energy needs for about 3,000,000 people.) |
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In
the future, fast-growing energy crops may become the biomass fuel of choice. These
energy crops will be selectively bred to be fast growing, drought and pest resistant,
and readily harvested, allowing them to become a competitively priced fuel. The
U.S. Department of Energy is working with national labs, agricultural and forestry
groups, power companies, and other governmental agencies to make energy crops
a viable fuel source in the near future.
According
to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC):
Even under an aggressive
growth scenario for the biofuels industry, land does not become a constraint until
the mid-21st century, and we believe that farmers will find ways to meet traditional
agricultural and energy demands on our existing croplands well beyond then.
A 2005 joint study conducted by the Departments of Energy and Agriculture estimates that 1.3 billion tons of biomass feedstock is potentially available in the U.S. for the production of biofuels. This is enough biomass feedstock to displace approximately 30 percent of current gasoline consumption on a sustainable basis. See Feedstock for a Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry:
The Technical Feasibility of a Billion-Ton Annual Supply
Growing
Energy
This
is a Natural Resources Defense Council study.
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