[livius]

Thank you. When Bush mentioned it, I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Just proves you can find out anything on FR!

[JeffersonRepublic.com]

""Ethanol is blended with petrofuels to increase combustion and decrease pollutants. The problem is, most ethanol now in use is made from corn, and the total energy output/input ratio is about 1.2. This means the net energy gain from corn ethanol is about 21 percent. The energy output/input ratio for switchgrass is estimated at 4.4, representing a net energy gain of 334 percent."

Taliaferro said the ratio is better with switchgrass because it doesn't require the nurturing of row crops and it is perennial, eliminating the need for annual planting."

[bert]

I thought he had erred. In early reports I thought they mentioned marsh grass like salt march cord grass and I thought difficult to harvest.

Looks like switch grass is a better product and a boon for agricultural land that is rapidly becoming unproductive as old folks die off.

I haven't seen the cost benefit figures yet however.

Last week I uncovered all my old solar collector files dating from the 70's. Need to study up.