May 23, 2011
BY Susanne Retka Schill
Switchgrass sure grows tall in Tennessee. Someone shared the link to a video clip with us that talks about the switchgrass work and development of Genera Energy’s cellulosic ethanol demo plant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBNXddOJ6PY
There’s a farmer featured in the clip as well as a former governor and folks from Genera Energy. Being as the Dupont logo appears at the end of the clip, we can surmise it was produced by the folks at Dupont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol who are partnering with Genera Energy in the demo project.
It was short, and imformative. But what caught my eye was that tall switchgrass waving above the heads of those walking through field -- a rather convincing image that the crop is a viable biomass feedstock. Sometimes pictures speak louder than the statistics on yield.
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On another note, one of my colleagues had a thought-provoking comment: “It is good. But why does every biofuels-based commercial have to include that mournful, yet hopeful, folksy, sound bed? Seriously. They all start with the sad, the world is ending, fossil fuels are running out, music, rising up to the “but wait! We could use biofuels!” ending. If they really want to get the young generation behind this, they’re going to have to get more urban.”
Interesting observation. Perhaps the industry message does need to be updated. What do you think?
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