They lead with climate impact but the three main biofuel producers all pushed this as a way to achieve energy independence and to support farmers.
Of course solar achieves both of those goals better too. It reduces fuel imports (and/or leaves more for export) and provides another "crop" that doesn't have income correlated with other produce.
Really fascinating data. Limitation: "We don’t account for the fact that we’d need energy storage and other options to make sure that power is available where and when it’s needed (not just when the sun is shining). We’re just trying to get a sense of perspective for how much electricity could be produced by using that land in more efficient ways." - fascinating nonetheless.
They lead with climate impact but the three main biofuel producers all pushed this as a way to achieve energy independence and to support farmers.
Of course solar achieves both of those goals better too. It reduces fuel imports (and/or leaves more for export) and provides another "crop" that doesn't have income correlated with other produce.
Really fascinating data. Limitation: "We don’t account for the fact that we’d need energy storage and other options to make sure that power is available where and when it’s needed (not just when the sun is shining). We’re just trying to get a sense of perspective for how much electricity could be produced by using that land in more efficient ways." - fascinating nonetheless.
The land-use and EV vs ICE efficiency compound in:
> ... you could drive 70 times as many miles in a solar-powered electric car as you could in one running on biofuels from the same amount of land.
The article notes that the EVs have a lot of storage embedded, so the biofuels to EV problem might be considered mostly a transmission issue!