Biomass program funding in line for Ohio

Energy efficiency is high on the agenda in Ohio and federal money will support Trumbull and Ashtabula counties to grow a new energy grass: Miscanthus Giganteus.

 

Funding from the government's Biomass Crop Assistance Program will support the growth of Miscanthus Giganteus, an energy grass that can grow on soil where other crops can't. The nearly US$6 million in funding is expected to create more than a thousand agriculture jobs in the area and support the efforts to produce about three times the energy from Miscanthus Giganteus compared to other sources, such as corn.
Miscanthus Giganteus can be burned to produce heat and steam for power turbines and when combined in a 50%-50% mixture with coal, it can be used in some current coal-burning power plants without modifications.
The key difference between Miscanthus Giganteus and corn is that the former is not a food crop and has no direct competition with food. As a result, market prices for corn directly affect the price of maize, which in turn, affects the ability of many farmers to produce the crop. Miscanthus Giganteus will not be affected by changes in demand and has no direct correlation to the price of food.