1. By Matthew Surridge Student No. 453862 Jessica Prystenski (March 26, 2008) Taken from http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/renewables/biofuels-arent-really-green/0

2. Sustainable, green, renewable, organic “Are words that spring to mind when talking about bio fuels, and it is assumed that they mean the same thing but they don't.” Deepak Divan, Frank Kreikebaum (2009) Title of article Bio fuels aren't really green Company IET http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/renewables/biofuels-arent-really-green/0 Assessed for research December 2009

3. Power Sources “Nuclear reactors emit no carbon and are therefore in a sense green, but uranium is non- renewable” “hydropower is green and renewable but may not always be sustainable, because the ecological consequences can be bad and reservoirs are not limitless” “Coal is organic, but its carbon emissions make it the very opposite of green” Deepak Divan, Frank Kreikebaum (2009)

4. This is a simulation of different senarios of energy production. The simulation shows different inputs and outputs e.g. land, water, and carbon. It also predicts emissions of carbon Deepak Divan, Frank Kreikebaum (2009)

5. Switchgrass vs. Photovoltaics There isn’t enough water or land to sustain a prosperous world powered entirely by biofuels, but a similar world powered by solar energy is at least theoretically possible. Realistically, the future will have elements of both. SwitchgrassPhotovoltaics Deepak Divan, Frank Kreikebaum (2009)

6. In fact, a world enjoying current U.S. levels of prosperity, fueled by switchgrass, would require almost twice as much land and freshwater as are actually available on Earth A sustainable biofueled world, it turns out, would require 32 times as much land and 14 times as much water as a solar world to meet a prosperous world's food and energy needs. Deepak Divan, Frank Kreikebaum (2009)

7. Biofuels provide around 6.5 megawatt-hours per day per square kilometre. That's roughly enough to power 60 homes or carry 135 conventional cars 50 kilometres (about 30 miles). A photovoltaic system covering the same square kilometre, with a typical commercially available system efficiency of 15.5 percept, could power 12 000 homes or 60 000 electric vehicles. Julia Whitty on Jan. 8, 2008 Michael Graham Richard on 05.15.08 Deepak Divan, Frank Kreikebaum (2009)

8. “Yet the plain fact is that nobody really knows when or whether organic fuels will be competitive” Since raw sunlight provides 100 watts per square foot, a photovoltaic array that produces 10 watts per square foot has an efficiency of 10%. Some photovoltaic arrays can do much better than that, with efficiencies reported as high as 20% on high-quality production panels. You can make the same calculating with today’s best biofuel crops – diesel fuel extracted from jatropha and ethanol distilled from sugar cane both produce about 55 million Btu’s per square mile per year. Since raw sunshine provides about 41 trillion Btu’s per square mile per year, their efficiency is a paltry.13%. Deepak Divan, Frank Kreikebaum (2009)

9. Conclusion As result of this research we can see that a world solely fueled from bio fuels is impossible, unless yield rates improve per acre because we would need more land than the earth has in order to grow enough switchgrass to support a sustainable world, and that in theory at least a solar powered world could work. As we can see from the previous slides a world powered by switch grass would need 193% of the earths Land and 173% of earths water. This is obviously unachievable so a balanced energy portfolio is the best way to go, this would contain both solar and bio fuel as well as some of the current forms of energy production. This would help the world cut its CO2 emissions and become more sustainable. so biodiesel is a good supplement today but not a long term solution. “if the yield from switchgrass improves by 300 percent, as analysts expect it to do over the next 40 years, we'd need to commandeer "only" 68 percent of the land and 66 percent of the freshwater in the world. Of course, that would ravage biodiversity, leaving us open to horrible consequences should some blight kill off the crop we were depending on.” Deepak Divan, Frank Kreikebaum (2009)

10. Title of article Bio fuels aren't really green Company IET http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/renewables/biofuels-arent-really-green/0 Assessed for research December 2009 By Michael Graham Richard on 05.15.08 Title - The Solar Industry Tries to Stay One Step Ahead of Regulators Company Treehugger http://www.treehugger.com/solar-panels-bgbgb001.jpg Accessed for research on December 2009 By Julia Whitty on Jan. 8, 2008 Title - Some Biofuels Worse Than Fossil Fuels Company Mother Jones http://www.motherjones.com/files/legacy/blue_marble_blog/bio-fuel_6648.jpg Accessed for research on December 2009 Bibliography by: Jessica Prystenski (March 26, 2008) Title The Impact of Biofuels on Agriculture and the Economy http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~umprystj/PLNT4600/mini3/mini3.1_files/image007.jpg Accessed for research December 2008