Could West Texas algae curb oil dependence?

[jpak]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5195599.html

ANTHONY — A year ago, this dusty patch of land near the New Mexico border contained little more than dirt and the odd sprig of alfalfa. Today, it is home to a $3 million laboratory that is crackling with activity.

The hi-tech lab was built for a peculiar but possibly revolutionary purpose: to explore ways algae can be used to reduce the world's dependence on oil.

An arid stretch of West Texas might seem like a strange place to study the tiny water-borne plants, but the work is more than just a big idea.

The two companies behind it, El Paso's Valcent Products and Canadian alternative energy firm Global Green Solutions, have developed a system they claim will allow for cheap mass production of algae in just about any corner of the world.

<more>

[DaveJ]

1. They are doing it without government help too

The article says funding was cut in 1996 because oil prices were so low, and that now the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has secured funding from an 'unnamed' industrial partner.

It seems to me, if this can be done in places where other crops aren't usually grown, they should go for it.

[hogwyld]

2. Not to pee on anyone's Cheerios

But with global warming affecting everything including fresh water supplies, how is this going to affect algae production?

[Massacure]

3. A lot of types of algae can be grown in salt water.