The key to algae's potential as a renewable fuel source lies in the high productivities of algal biomass that can be grown in a given area; some researchers say algae could be 10 or even 100 times more productive than traditional bioenergy feedstocks. Achieving the potential for these high productivities in real-world systems is a key challenge to realizing the promise of sustainable and affordable algal biofuels. Once harvested, algae can be readily processed into the raw material to make fuel for cars, trucks, trains, and planes.
This roughly 6 square mile parcel located in the Rio Solare project on the Nevada side of the Colorado River is twice the size of the current largest algae farm. The United States Department of Energy estimates that if algae fuel replaced all the petroleum fuel in the United States, it would require 15,000 square miles or about half of the land area of Maine. This is less than 1⁄7 the area of corn harvested in the United States in 2000. Studies have determined that replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources, such as algae, have the capability of reducing CO2 emissions by up to 80%.
For more information regarding the Algae Farm and the entire Rio Solare project, please visit us online at riosolare.com or like and subscribe to our facebook page.
