Articles

The Path to a Clean Energy Future

How farm-grown energy benefits our economy and the environment

America’s farms have the potential to be tremendous sources of clean, renewable energy. Pairing new technologies with farm-grown resources across the country will move us towards a clean energy future while providing a boost to the nation’s economy and a solution to global warming. Here’s how.

Solar, wind and biogas: clean electricity instead of dirty coal

The wind. The sun. Livestock methane. With so many ways of converting renewable natural resources into clean electricity while improving farmers’ bottom lines, who needs coal? Coal emissions are the single largest source of global warming pollution in the United States. Mining for coal has ruined millions of acres of forest and other habitat in this country, and air pollution from coal has been linked to health problems including asthma, neurological damage and developmental delays. Considering all the damage that coal has done, you’d think no one would want to build new coal plants. But more than 150 additional plants are in some stage of planning or development right now.

America’s farmlands have rich potential for capturing wind and solar energy, along with methane gas from cows and other livestock, and converting it into electricity. These efforts -- lucrative investments in a clean energy economy -- would benefit farmers and the country as a whole, while cutting global warming pollution,

Wind: Wind power works well on farms because wind turbines need only a small area of land, can operate alongside everyday farming operations and provide farmers with added income. Wind power is an affordable, efficient and inexhaustible source of electricity. It is pollution-free and cost competitive with new coal- or gas-fired power plants.

Sun: Solar power converts the sun's energy into a pollution-free source of heat, lighting and electricity that also slashes utility bills. Thanks to technological leaps in solar panels, solar cells are becoming cheaper and more efficient, require little to no maintenance, and are expected to be cost-competitive with traditional electricity by 2015.

Biogas: Farms can produce their own clean electricity from the methane released from animal waste. Biodigester systems installed on farms can collect manure, capture the gas and burn it to produce electricity that can be used to run farm operations. Biogas recovery is profitable with at least 500 cows or 2,000 swine. Excess electricity can be sold to the local electric utility.

Biofuels: clean homegrown fuel from plants can replace dirty oil and gas

Reducing our dependence on oil is key to cutting global warming and strengthening national security. We can reduce our oil dependence with biofuels -- fuels made from plant materials grown by American farmers. These fuels could be cost-competitive with gasoline and diesel, and allow us to invest our energy dollars at home. They can also slash global warming emissions, improve air quality, reduce soil erosion, and expand wildlife habitat.

The future of biofuels is more than just corn kernels. Cellulosic biofuels can be made from the leaves, stems and stalks of plants and improve land that's no longer productive. Generated from corn and switchgrass, biofuels are ready to compete in the market with dirty fossil fuels.

Producing the crops to make biofuels could provide farmers with profits of more than $5 billion per year by 2025. Biofuels also have the potential to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 1.7 billion tons per year and minimize our need for polluting oil and gas. That's equal to more than 80 percent of our transportation-related emissions.

Investing in biofuels instead of oil and gas would do wonders for our national security. The United States currently imports almost 60 percent of our oil, making us dangerously dependent on a precarious energy source to keep our economy moving. Oil riches in the Middle East have been linked to terrorist networks, and the thousands of miles of pipelines that help bring oil to America are vulnerable to terrorist attack.

The energy industry wants to tear up our nation’s most spectacular landscapes -- Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front, or Utah’s Redrock Wilderness -- in order to meet America’s energy needs. But drilling for more domestic oil isn’t the answer. Instead, biofuels from switchgrass and corn could protect our wilderness, rejuvenate less productive lands and contribute to our energy needs in a clean, sustainable way.