United States has a Capacity to Produce 25 Billion Gallons of Algae Fuels per Year !
Studies from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) reveal that the U.S. has the capacity to support the production of up to 25 billion gallons of algae biofuel per year — one twelfth of the entire country’s fuel needs
The laboratory’s estimate was based on available land and water resources that resulted in positive and negative insights. The study done by PNNL involved growing algae in open-air, large, shallow ponds. The areas that they chose to grow algae was the Gulf Coast ans the Southeastern Seaboard.
These two areas were chosen since they had a good fuel processing infrastructure, abundant water source, and warm, humid climate, PNNL’s estimate factored in sea water as well as salty groundwater.
For water with high salinity, there is an option to cultivate salt-friendly strains of algae, and the availability of solar powered desalination technology has made converting salt water to fresh water a more cost-efficient task.
