Elephant grass plantations could fuel Scotland

PLANTING ASIAN elephant grass across the Highlands could provide enough biofuel to drive every vehicle in Scotland and perhaps the whole of the UK, experts will tell a conference in Glasgow this week.

Monster Miscanthus grass, which grows up to four metres high, could be the ideal crop to grow on marginal land for conversion into liquid fuels, they say. Because it won’t compete with food crops, they claim it will avoid the environmental problems plaguing current biofuels.

Environmentalists, however, are concerned about the potential impact on wildlife and the landscape. They also question whether making fuel for cars would be the best way of using energy crops such as elephant grass.

Sunday Herald