US has 3 percent of oil reserves, 25 percent of ag residue reserves

May 5, 2011 |

In Denmark, Steen Riisgaard, CEO of Novozymes, writes that “America has only 3 percent of the world’s oil reserves, but produces more than 25 percent of the world’s agricultural residues,” and adds that “Advanced biofuels could directly create 400,000 jobs by 2030, and indirectly create 1.5 million more,” in an article published this week in the Huffington Post.

Riisgaard said that to realize the potential, US policymakers must direct research and development grants toward the next generation of bio-based products, create programs that help farmers collect and transport biomass, and invest directly in industrial biotechnology. Riisgaard writes, “Over the long term, bio-based fuels, chemicals, and plastics will become hugely profitable on their own. But today, the industry faces high start-up costs, and competes with an oil industry that receives billions of dollars year after year in government funds.”

Category: Fuels

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