Biofuels In The Energy Puzzle

This weeks question over at Chevrons willyoujoinus.com is "CAN BIOFUELS PLAY A MORE SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN THE WORLDS PORTFOLIO OF ENERGY RESOURCES?" Its a bit too broad a question, and of course the quick answer is yes. Attached to that simple answer are all sorts of caveats and provisos, and this would be true for all alternative energy sources -- none can be the "only" source, or even the main source, and all have pros and cons. Whats a bit disappointing is that when any alternative source is discussed on its own, a lot of people who prefer other sources, or maybe have vested interests in them, jump on the singled-out source and play up its disadvantages, as if, because it has a downside, it should be dismissed. There aint no magic bullet here. As long as an alternative source is energy-positive and not economically foolish (as some could be if they were, say, subsidized by the government to exclusion of others) then it should be welcomed. Enough with the gloomy choruses.

Heres what newenergywatch sent to willyoujoinus:

"Biofuels can and will play a more significant role, but its probably not good policy to assume they can do more than a modest fraction of the job. Unless we come up with some sort of agrarian breakthrough, we simply cant grow enough corn, soy, rapeseed/canola, sawgrass, algae, or anything else to make up for more than a small portion of the massive volumes of fossil fuels we consume. Thats not to say we shouldnt be solidly behind biofuel development and promotion, whether it contributes two percent or twenty percent to our energy supply. That biofuel percentage must be combined with contributions from solar, wind, and hydro power, and, most importantly, reductions of demand through conservation. In my opinion, the magic number will be when, with a combination of alternative energy sources and conservation, we eclipse the need to import oil, particularly OPEC oil, which accounts for about 5.6 million barrels of the almost 21 million barrels we burn every day. The present need to buy oil from people who can and do use the proceeds to wage war against us is infuriating and unacceptable."

"Im a firm believer in biodiesel. I have no hands-on experience with the home-brew kind (used vegetable oil from fast-food restaurants, rendered animal fats, etc.), but I buy certified 100-percent soy diesel (B100) from a local distributor and hand-blend it in a 20-percent mixture (B20) for my wifes VW and a 50- to 70-percent mixture for a small diesel powerboat we use for pleasure and to test boat gear in the summertime. (By the way, there should, for now, be a steep tax on pleasureboat fuel, with proceeds used for alternative fuel development -- and I speak as one who has made most of his living in the boat industry.)"

"One promising bit of biofuel news Ive seen recently has been the development of a working system to draw CO2 emissions from powerplant stacks, then use the CO2 to feed a fast-growing breed of algae whose oil and starch compositions can then be broken down into biodiesel and ethanol (GreenFuel Technologies). Whether this process will be the breakthrough needed to produce large amounts of fuel, who knows? Algae has been a promising feedstock for biofuels because it grows so quickly and so much of its composition can be put to use. The same applies to cellulosic ethanol: Its good to be able to use the cellulose biomass -- the husks and stalks and cobs of the corn -- along with the starch from the kernels, to make fuel."

~ Doug Logan, "New Energy Watch"