Title:
Economic and Government Policy Analysis for Energy Production from Sweet Sorghum
Author(s):
Holly, M.S.
Document(s):
Paper
Abstract:
Government policies in many nations have blocked the development of an energy crop that could potentially offer the lowest costs and prevent the most greenhouse gas emissions of any renewable energy, and without creating competition for land with food uses. Sorgo, Inc. verified that sweet sorghum can produce high yields of sugar and fiber like sugar cane, but with much lower fertilizer, water and land requirements. The company built and patented a harvester needed for leaf removal and storage of the crop like sugar beets, and analyzed the economics of producing ethanol and electricity at typical processing plants used for sugar cane. The economics appear similar to those achieved using sugar cane in Brazil, which has found ethanol vehicle fuel can be produced at costs that are competitive to the average price of gasoline when electricity sells for about four or five cents per kilowatt-hour. However, governments have rendered these prices uncompetitive with preferential policies that have lowered the costs of other energy sources, especially oil and natural gas, and wind and solar. Along with antitrust immunity for OPEC, the U.S. has favored domestic oil and natural gas with environmental exemptions for fracking, low-cost leases, tax shelters and low-interest loans through Fed manipulation. The U.S. has favored wind and solar energy with manufacturing grants, loan guarantees, tax shelters and low interest rates, and also generation utility mandates and tax shelters for big banks, large companies and the wealthy, along with low interest rates, and by regulatory processes that don’t consider the added costs of backing up intermittent outputs. Although sweet sorghum will likely not grow and store as well in Western Europe due to the milder climate, Sorgo’s attempts to locate in Eastern Europe were met with disappearing support schemes like feed-in tariffs, and subsidies for fossil fueled-power plants. Moreover, government-established monopolies worldwide have blocked independents like Sorgo with rigged bidding in both regulated and deregulated industries and transmission constraints in deregulated markets. Sorgo seeks the repeal of preferential policies, especially laws blocking microgrids.
Keywords:
cogeneration, ethanol, sweet sorghum
Topic:
Industry Track
Subtopic:
Biomass production
Event:
30th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
IBO.2.1
Pages:
1131 - 1146
ISBN:
978-88-89407-22-6
Paper DOI:
10.5071/30thEUBCE2022-IBO.2.1
Price:
FREE
