Well, plants convert much less sun into energy than solar panels, since photosynthesis it's way less efficient. And the plant need glicose to grow (own metabolism) and just that remains can be be harvested.
From what is harvested it have the energy use to harvest and process the sugar caine (extract it). The sugar juice will be fermented, eated by levedures and what remains it's what have alcoohol together.
In the end it's just a very tiny fraction, a fraction of a fraction, of the sun that is converted to Ethanol fuel.
It's like hold a cup with a small waterfall over you.
In the case of USA ethanol (made from corn) it's even worse, since corn have much less glicose than sugar caine, so it would be like have a huge waterdfall over you and your cup.
I love corn, and when I see Indy race and think about all the corn wasted to make a little bit of ethanol...
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Originally Posted by redpoint5
That looks like some beautiful land; and it seems a shame to have clear cut it. I wonder what the net annual BTU productivity of sugarcane on that land would be vs the solar energy collected?
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