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Green Gold: Researchers Say Algae May Someday Replace Fossil Fuels, But Major Hurdles Exist

Doug Lynn waxes poetic about the green glop he's growing in research ponds north of Carlsbad.
Lynn and others believe turning algae into biofuel has the potential to provide an important new source of energy for the United States, and a significant new economic engine for New Mexico. In fact, the federal government just placed a $100 million bet on it, to fund a pilot plant in southern New Mexico.
But experts who have worked in the field for decades say there are enormous technical hurdles to overcome before biofuel from algae is an economically viable alternative to fossil fuels.
Algae's attraction, enthusiasts say, comes from the fact that it grows fast. When well-bred, they say, the same organisms that create pond scum produce enormous quantities of fatty tissue within their little bodies. Fat equals stored energy, so when the glop is processed, you can get the equivalent of crude oil.
The key raw materials are sunlight and briney, brackish water, both of which exist in abundance in the southern part of the state. "Southeast New Mexico sits on a brine ocean," said Lynn, head of a small Carlsbad nonprofit that has been using government funding to study the promise of biofuel made from the humble single-celled organisms.
That promise has state and federal officials, as well as some in the private sector, investing in algae's potential here.
In addition to the research by Lynn's group, Sandia and Los Alamos national labs have algae research under way.
And last month, the federal government announced more than $100 million in support for a commercial algae biofuel demonstration project being developed by Sapphire Energy just outside Columbus, N.M.
The New Mexico Environment Department recently negotiated a deal that funneled $750,000 in money collected from environmental fines to Lynn's organization for algae research.
A preliminary analysis by New Mexico State University economist C. Meghan Starbuck concludes that, if the technological bugs are worked out, production of fuel from algae production could create more jobs in New Mexico than are now provided by the oil and gas industry.
 

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