Biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, have grown from niche fuel additives found primarily in the Midwest to worldwide competitors with gasoline and diesel. As production of these alternative fuels has increased, the role that biofuels play in solving global warming, improving national security and helping the environment has increasingly become a topic of debate.

Ethanol from Switchgrass
Conventional ethanol (from corn) and biodiesel (from soybeans) together account for less than four percent of U.S. fuel needs, and they are unlikely to cover more than 10 percent of current or future demand for fuel. Enter switchgrass.

A New Miracle Crop?
Switchgrass has been touted as the next miracle crop of the renewable fuel industry. It’s a fast-growing variety of prairie grass that once grew wild across the eastern United States and has the potential to grow in areas from the Great Plains all the way to the Southeast. A new study documents that ethanol from switchgrass is nearly five times more efficient to produce than corn ethanol.