As the world finally comes to terms with the fact that the use of oil based and fossil fuels as a primary source of energy is not infinite, the real hope for economic prosperity and energy independence in the United States is in the research and development of alternative fuel sources. There has also been much talk in the recent twelve months regarding the need to develop methods of harnessing and distributing “clean” alternative energy sources which will not negatively impact the environment by depleting natural energy sources or causing air or water pollution in the processing of fuels for energy.

Not only has the search for renewable fuel sources become a matter for global resource responsibility, but also a matter of national security and fiscal responsibility to the citizens of the U.S. to relieve them from being hostage to hostile foreign entities who controls the primary means of energy resources for our country. Alternative energy sources must be developed within the U.S. to secure it’s independence from foreign energy sources.

Solar and wind energy are the first alternatives that come to mind when considering other possibilities for producing energy, as these sources are unending in their availability and are free. Unfortunately, the harnessing of these energy sources and the conversion to usable energy for providing electricity and automotive fuels is currently still cost prohibitive. As the state and federal government bodies begin to recognize and concede large scale funding to the opportunities for energy independence through these forms of renewable energy, the cost of the products, power conversion, and installation will dramatically drop. Unfortunately, the fear is that the gas and electricity companies will, by then, have contrived a way to harness the dispersing of the converted energy, resulting in little cost savings to the consumer, although still relieving the rampant use of fossil fuels and pollution output affecting the global ecology.

As it stands today, the residential consumer can contract with a solar energy company to have a solar panel system installed on there home which will, in effect, convert the home to a “hybrid” which remains on the electric company’s energy grid, but allows the home to exclusively use its collected solar energy for electricity and heating when the conditions are favorable at no cost. In fact, electric companies in most areas are converting their billing systems to provide credits to the homeowner when enough solar energy is collected to supercede the current energy needs of the home. Therefore, you do not pay for electric service when your solar panels are doing their job, when it’s a cloudy day, you will pay for electricity you use from the electrics company’s power grid – BUT – if your solar panels have collected and converted more energy than you need, this energy is transferred back to the overall electric grid and the electric company will post a credit to your electric bill. You are, in effect, storing your unused solar energy with the electric company for future use, at no cost. Good deal !
Most solar panel fabricators and installers will also attest that you can eventually end up making money off of the electric company if your panels produce enough excess energy to greatly supercede your use. Since you are collecting the energy, and the electric company is providing the excess to its other customers by means of its electrical grid, the electric company will then pay you for the energy it is providing.

As the debates on how to best facilitate the United States’ independence from foreign fuel sources heats up, a resurgence of the industry that helped build this country may be the catalyst to the newest generation of renewable alternative energy. Farming. Specifically, farming plants that are used in the production of fuels to take the place of gasoline. Biofuels is the general term used for fuels derived from plant sources. Specifically, a biodiesel an alternative fuel produced from soy and ethanol is a grain-based alcohol derived from corn. This advent of technology is thereby creating the need for additional farming communities as well as processing plants for converting the natural raw materials into usable fuel. For example, alternative liquid fuels used in an increasing number of cars and trucks can be extracted from switchgrass, corn, cornstalks, sugar beets or sugarcane. These crops can then be planted with the intended end use being fuel, thereby being known as “energy crops”.

Other biofuels are being developed using the waste products of other energy sources. Cattle manure, for example, is a very rich source of potential energy. Since the excrement from cattle still contains 66% of the original components of the originally ingested food grain, current research is focused on developing similar fuel sources which recycle cow manure as a raw material.

Ironically, as the United States continues to strive to advance the research, development and use of alternative and renewable fuel sources to reduce the impact of fuel uses on the environment, the biofuel industry is hostage to the weather and climate patterns which are dramatically impacted by continued global warming. Currently, the biofuel industry is suffering because of the severe weather conditions which are affecting crop production. Hopefully, the efforts to reverse the greenhouse effect of pollution emissions in the atmostphere will eventually aid in relieving the weather related plight of the American farmer. Unfortunately, the resolution will not come in a reasonable amount of time to benefit the producer or consumer.

The logical solution to the environmental problems the biofuel energy crop farmers are facing may be in the production of large scale greenhouses where climate control can be more easily managed. Government subsidized farmland is a perfect opportunity to expand the necessity for mass greenhouses, by use of commercial grants and pre-orders for energy output from utility companies.

Opponents of the bio-fuel farm crop system are not necessarily opposed to the idea of plant use in production of alternative fuels, but rather are concerned with the ratio of energy used to produce the crop and energy extracted from the crop. Studies are being conducted to gauge the relative productivity levels of one crop to another. For example, the process of growing and cultivating soybeans for production of bio-diesel is much less labor intensive than the growing and production of ethanol from corn. Therefore, bio-diesel may be a more sustainable energy source than ethanol. Research and development is also being conducted to simplify the refining processes of plant based fuels to balance the production cost with the energy output for more profitable results.