Pursuing Biofuel Usage Could Spur Economic Growth
More than 5 million jobs and $700 billion in economic activity could be generated if the U.S. pursued a plan to get 25 percent of its energy from homegrown sources by the year 2025, according to a study conducted by the University of Tennessee's Agricultural Economics Center.
More than 5 million jobs and $700 billion in economic activity could be generated if the U.S. pursued a plan to get 25 percent of its energy from homegrown sources by the year 2025, according to a study conducted by the University of Tennessee's Agricultural Economics Center.
The study (link to http://www.25x25.org) supports a recent Harris Interactive poll in which 88 percent of U.S. adults agreed that the nation should pursue development of renewable energy sources.
"This study validates the consumers' confidence that our country can in the near future transition to cleaner, cheaper and renewable energy sources," says Doug Durante, executive director of the Clean Fuels Development Coalition, which commissioned the poll.
The University of Tennessee researchers used two computer models to conclude the U.S. is capable of generating 25 percent of its energy from renewable sources, such as 86 billion gallons of ethanol, by the year 2025. The additional supply of ethanol is projected to decrease gasoline consumption by 59 billion gallons in 2025, Durante says. Currently, renewable energy accounts for about 6 percent of the country's overall energy use.
Reaching the 25 percent goal is contingent on commercial introduction of cellulosic ethanol conversion and the development of an energy-dedicated crop economy with 105.8 million planted acres.
The U.S. House of Representatives recently adopted a resolution supporting the 25x’25 goal.
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