Energy crop

An energy crop is a plant grown as a low-cost and low-maintenance harvest used to make biofuels, such as bioethanol, or combusted for its energy content to generate electricity or heat. Energy crops are generally categorized as woody or herbaceous plants; many of the latter are grasses of the family Graminaceae.

Commercial energy crops are typically densely planted, high-yielding crop species which are processed to bio-fuel and burnt to generate power. Woody crops such as willow or poplar are widely utilised, as well as temperate grasses such as Miscanthus and Pennisetum purpureum (both known as elephant grass). If carbohydrate content is desired for the production of biogas, whole-crops such as maize, Sudan grass, millet, white sweet clover and many others, can be made into silage and then converted into biogas.

Through genetic modification and application of biotechnology plants can be manipulated to create greater yields, reduce associated costs and require less water. High energy yield can also be realized with existing cultivars.

Energy generated by burning plants grown for the purpose, often after the dry matter is pelletized. Energy crops are used for firing power plants, either alone or co-fired with other fuels. Alternatively they may be used for heat or combined heat and power (CHP) production.

To cover the increasing requirements of woody biomass, short rotation coppice (SRC) were applied to agricultural sites. Within this cropping systems fast growing tree species like willows and poplars are planted in growing cycles of three to five years. The cultivation of this cultures is dependent on wet soil conditions and could be an alternative for moist field sieds. However, an influence on local water conditions could not be excluded. This indicates that an establishment should exclude the vicinity to vulnarable wetland ecosystems.

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