The capacity limit is the biosphere.
We found out long ago growing plants are not dense enough sources for fuel in modern use.
At one time over 25% of land was growing transportation fuel - for horses. Imagine how much would be required to put a dent in world energy demands today.
There’s a reason we innovate toward more dense energy fuel. Nuclear being the best.
Remember - when photoelectric cells were discovered, they claimed that the world’s energy needs would be met by that, too. “The only limit is the amount of sunshine we get! And we can use batteries for the cloudy days!”
I’m a natural skeptic. I realize that there’s more to this than meets the eye. Implementation may be difficult on a wide scale. Until I see actual details on fuel production per acre dedicated to a) processing facilities and b) biomass generating land (i.e. farmland) I won’t buy the hype.
...but yeah. Nuclear would be a good choice in today’s age.
And Yucca mountain? Are we tired of the resistance to THAT project yet?
Some landfills are currently tapped for methane (microbes are converting biomass into gas). Some vehicles have been converted to burn natural gas.
Corn (a grass) and switchgrass are being fermented by microbes into ethanol.
The process is not new.
yitbos