If we plan on a national level in terms of 100 million acres of switchgrass, or perhaps grasses with even higher yields of fiber, such as Miscanthus x gigantus [industrial hemp?] , we should design for the greatest amount of useable energy produced per acre. Anything else reduces the chances of our achieving true energy independence.

Solid switchgrass biofuel pellets have 8X more useable energy, net energy, than ethanol! So let’s get the biggest bang for our buck! To invest in ethanol is to throw away our money on an investment with 1/8th the return we could realize if we focused on converting switchgrass into engineered, solid, biofuel pellets made from a blend that includes other fibers from the recycling bin: news papers, waxed cardboard, telephone books, trimmings from making disposable diapers, etc.

By the way, we and others have successfully made pellets from all of the above materials!