A plan to use plant energy for biodiesel and bioethanol for heating and electricity will help increase farmers’ incomes and lessen environmental pollution, but success depends on conditions in which an investment is made.

The most promising areas for such crops and sites to process liquid fuels are explored in “Action Plan for Biomass and Biofuel in Greece,” a study by the Institute for Rural Development and Cooperative Economy (INASO) for the Panhellenic Confederation of Unions of Agricultural Cooperatives (PASEGES).

European Union directives mandate that at least 5.75 percent of fuel used in Greece for transport be biofuel and 1.2 percent of electricity be produced from biomass by 2010.

To produce the minimum amount of biomass, Greece must cultivate approximately 370,000 hectares of energy-producing plants, planting 200,00 hectares of sunflower and rapeseed to produce biodiesel; 110,00 hectares of sweet sorghum, sugar beet, wheat and corn to produce bioethanol; and 50,000 hectares with grain sorghum to produce electricity.

At this point, it is only a proposal with implementation yet to be realized. With a loggerhead of investors ready to start production and offer options to consumers, only government approval stands in their way.

For related articles, see “Environment.”