UPDATE: Yet another concern about biofuels: Invasive plants

The Dallas Morning News - Energy and Environment Blog
6:36 PM Sat, Nov 14, 2009
Elizabeth Souder/Reporter

Another issue with biofuels: Most of the grass species biofuels companies are considering using to make into gasoline feedstock are invasive.

Add it to the list of concerns scientists, politicians, energy officials and consumers often have about biofuels. Fuels such as ethanol can be costly, they can consume food (such as corn), and they sometimes require special infrastructure to get to the pump.

Researchers are finding ways to use grasses to make biofuel. Some say grasses can solve each of those common concerns: They are cheaper than other biofuel crops, they aren't food, and, in some cases, the resulting feedstock can be added to fuel at the refinery, requiring no extra infrastructure. However, the companies planning to plant grasses for biofuels haven't addressed the concern that they could be planting predatory weeds.

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