Quote:
Originally Posted by Wheeldog
A basic truth of energy is there is no free lunch. Switch grass is subject to the same economic basics as any other source of energy; return on investment. What is the net energy gain in converting switch grass or any other alternative into a usable fuel? Until the last several decades conventional oil wells often returned 100 barrels of oil for the equivalent of each barrel of oil invested to extract it and convert it into a usable product. Today it is closer to 10-to-1. Switch grass may be easy to grow, but it still requires an investment of energy and technology to harvest, store, transport, refine and distribute. In the end the net energy gain is very small. This means that companies are reluctant to invest a lot of money into a process that has margnal profit return. There is also the issue of volume. It would take an enormous amount of switch grass to make a significant dent in our total consumption of liquid fuels.
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The net energy gain of Ethanol from corn is essentially negative, and yet huge sums have been invested. Sure, the government subsidies have helped, but that's not going to change just because we turn to another fuel source. We need an alternative for oil that is economically, environmentally and ethically sound, and if the free market is not capable of making the switch on its own I don't see why the government shouldn't give it a little tap if it makes sense. Corn from ethanol however does not, unfortunately, so every cent the government invests here is in essence money thrown out of the window.