Solar Produces 1000x More Energy Per Acre than Soy BioDiesel

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1454/70/

Solar Produces 1000x More Energy Per Acre than Soy BioDiesel

Lots of people are getting excited about all the various technologies for using biofuels of one sort or another as a replacement for fossil fuels, and they may present a short-term option. But looking at the various kinds of energy production that are possible gives some insight into the best directions to promote in terms of developing long-term efficient energy production.

A study cited on EV World makes a comparison between different crop- and direct-production methods of generating energy in terms of miles per acre per year, with some eye-opening information.

At the bottom end of the scale is soybean biodiesel, which can provide only 2,400 miles per acre per year. Corn ethanol is more than six times as efficient, yielding 18,000 miles per acre per year. But because of the relatively slow rate of production from plant-based fuels, these options far fall below the productivity of directly produced energy.

The same acre can produce 10 times as much energy from wind as it can from corn ethanol, 180,000 miles per acre per year. But both corn ethanol and wind power pale in comparison with solar photovoltaic, which can produce more than 2 million miles worth of transport per acre per year.

...

[MannyGoldstein]

1. Can You Convert To Cost Per Mile

An acre of photovoltaics is pretty expensive.

[crikkett]

4. not nearly as much as it used to be

and it's a one-time cost vs. perennial cost of pumping/growing fuel. Just gather, like a bee.

Nice to think about in fact
:)

[Demeter]

2. Yup. And No Destroying the Earth, Either

[Fovea]

3. And since not all acrage is good to farm

but the sun shines on poor soil and good, PV represents a huge potential income for land fit only for solar.

[Nihil]

6. And, in addition, ...

... you could keep sheep, goats, chickens or pigs on the same land
as long as you didn't overstock it!

A solar smallholding ... hmmm ... :think:

[Fovea]

10. Very good point

and really, monoculture is so 20th C.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

5. Nova was all about Solar Tech tonight

but I missed it. :(

[OKIsItJustMe]

8. I missed it too

Check out the on-line content though...
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/solar/

[RedEarth]

14. It was an excellent show and well worth watching

Germany is one country that has focused a lot of their resources on solar energy. Perhaps, if a democrat takes over the white house, our country might provide greater subsidies to alternative forms of power and less on the oil/gas industry.

[OKIsItJustMe]

15. I just finished watching it on-line

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/solar/

It was a good show. Nothing in it I didn't know already, but I'm already thinking about people I want to watch it.

[4dsc]

7. Hwo far will my semi get on solar??

I'm thinking that I will get alot farther down the road with Biodiesel than with a solar array on the roof..

[OKIsItJustMe]

9. Not a very good comparison

Imagine how far you'd get if you had to grow those soy beans on your roof! :rofl:

In either case, you're talking about using power in your truck that is produced elsewhere. So, now the question becomes, "Where can you produce it most efficiently?"

[Fovea]

11. much better economy

When it's electric traction motors
start drawing current from the roadway, like a 1960s slot car.

[hunter]

13. Electric trains on track.

More efficient.

[One_Life_To_Give]

12. Planting an acre of Soybeans is alot cheaper

than buying 44,000 square feet of PV panels.

Althought the real problem is one of storage. Putting the equivalent of 200 gallons of Diesel onto a typical Kenworth chassis with batteries or capacitors isn't there yet.

[OKIsItJustMe]

16. The comparison really doesn't hold up

How much of the year will that field of soybeans produce diesel?
How many harvests will you get without maintenance?

A field full of PV will essentially be maintenance free, producing power, year in, year out.