Energy...

A report released March 17 says that the solution to a home-grown biofuel industry in the Pacific Northwest may not rely on corn, oil-seed crops, or even timber waste. The solution may be in the trash bin.

The report, which has the sexy title, "Biofuels in Oregon and Washington: A Business Case Analysis of Opportunities and Challengies," made the front page of the Oregonian's Metro section Monday. According to the article, the biomass needed to create the cleaner-burning fuel, such as corn, isn't grown in the Northwest. Trucking it in would reduce the overall positive impact of making biofuel in the first place.

In order to keep the process local from start to finish, the report recommends looking into "non-traditional feedstocks, such as municipal waste," as well as investigatin new conversion tehcnologies that are currently being tested in Germany.

The article quotes Dennis Stiles, the report's lead author, as saying a commercial market for the fuel could be ten years off. This is just another example, along with EVs, hydrogen fuel cells, and hybrids, of the massive transportation paradigm shift that will take place in the next decade.

Photo by OldSarge.