The increased interest in renewable biofuels, such as biodiesel and ethanol, has come in the wake of higher domestic fuel costs after many years of low consumer prices. With the increase in the price of petroleum-based fuels and growing concern over the reliance on foreign oil from unstable parts of the world there has been more interest to look for cheaper, more sustainable energy resources.
While domestically produced sustainable energy sources have the potential to spur growth for domestic farming communities, they have also been touted as being more environmentally friendly. There is also discussion about the potential for biofuels powering a large number of vehicles for the United States transportation sector while producing lower emissions and greenhouse gases. Some see this as a way to help reduce the effects of global warming but issues such as the availability of limited feedstock to produce the biofuels and bigger pictures such as food versus fuel are also a growing concern.
There are technical drawbacks to biofuels such as decrease in power, solvency issues, public perception, price competitiveness, feedstock availability, the waste stream produced and whether or not this waste can be dealt with in a sustainable manner. There are also issues related to the net energy gain from producing biofuels, which must also be addressed.
In terms of acres harvested, Ohio is one of the top ten agricultural states in the country and produces significant amounts of corn and soybeans, the main feedstock for biofuels. Many view biofuels as a way to stimulate the state economy while producing a more environmentally friendly domestic fuel. With new alternative fuels there are certain challenges in order to make these fuels more widely available. In this thesis I will explore the challenges of biofuels from the perspective of small-scale producers in Ohio that have a production rate of less than 5 million gallons per year.