Renewable Power Market

Over one-half of the states have enacted a renewable power mandate, generally requiring 10 – 20% of fuel for power generation to come from renewable sources. For other states, planned coal-fired power plant projects are either delayed or being cancelled due to more stringent environmental restrictions. Existing non-biomass alternatives to coal-based power present limitations:

• Natural gas – high price volatility and not carbon neutral
• Wind – Not consistent or reliable and not always near the population centers and major grids
• Solar – Projected population growth not expected where solar is most feasible, namely, the dry, western states

Much of the population growth and new power capacity is projected to be in the eastern region of the US. As noted in the following maps, wind and solar power are not optimal in this region. By contrast, the US Southeast and many part of the Midwest are optimal regions for biomass production from high yielding perennial grasses, and renewable fuel sourced from Miscanthus could easily meet this growing need (see Mendel's Miscanthus and switchgrass yield projections below).

At commercial scale, Mendel's crops should be a price-competitive source of renewable fuel in much of the country before factoring in government subsidies, tax credits, and carbon value.

Miscanthus Yield Projections