Agriculture as a Producer and Consumer of Energy

Book excerpt: Recent concerns about energy security in the US have drawn greater attention to agriculture's role as a producer and consumer of energy. Agriculturally-derived energy sources such as ethanol, biodiesel, biomass, and windpower presently supply between 0.3% and 0.50% of the energy consumed in the US. Organized into two parts, the first section of this book examines agriculture's role as a producer and consumer of energy, the integration of biomass energy into the US energy systems, a policy overview, and outlooks for energy production and consumption. The second section is a compendium of current research including the economic viability of ethanol and biodiesel; energy conservation and efficiency in agriculture; new methods and technologies; and environmental impacts and considerations.