Today in Biofuels Opinion: “Some say I believe in biofuels because I have invested in them”

Vinod Khosla in the Washington Post: “Some say I believe in biofuels because I have invested in them. The truth is that I invest in biofuels because I believe they can help our environment, economy and national security. Sufficient biomass exists as waste from forestry operations alone to meet the cellulosic fuels mandate (21 billion gallons) in the 2007 energy bill. All 36 billion gallons could be produced, at prices approaching $1 per gallon, within 10 years, if we include agricultural crop waste, municipal organic waste and sewage. By adding winter cover crops to about half of the land used for agriculture, land that sits idle during winter, we could replace most of our gasoline imports. By some agronomists’ estimates, winter cover crops could produce 450 million tons of biomass a year within 10 years and more than 750 million tons by 2030. That by itself would be enough to replace much of our imported gas — without an additional acre of land being used for biofuels production. All biofuels are not equal. Done right, cellulosic biofuels offer a scalable and economic way to reduce petroleum use and have a meaningful impact on the environment while benefiting farmers, entrepreneurs and consumers.

Dave Hudak, general manager of POET Biorefining in Alexandria: “Ed Lazear, chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, determined that ethanol accounts for, at most, 3 percent of the increase in global food prices. Ethanol has raised U.S. corn prices by about 33 percent, he estimates, but corn accounts for only 30 percent of all grain, and grain accounts for just 20 percent of all food…. In five years, we’ve been able to produce 6.4 percent more ethanol per bushel of corn while using 22 percent less energy and 26 percent less water.”

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