"Bioenergy was in the spotlight during a weeklong celebration in Washington DC, marking the 50th anniversary of one of Brazil’s premier research foundations," writes UNICA. "Designing crops for energy producution has been one of the priorities at FAPESP, the São Paulo State Research Foundation, which has recognized sugarcane as the best available crop in terms of high yields, low cost, fast growth, low greenhouse gas emissions and energy balance. ...

... "Lee Lynd, from Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth and a co-founder of US-based Mascoma, which develops cellulosic ethanol technology, pointed out the challenges that lie ahead for the sugarcane industry as well as Brazil’s distinctive role in bioenergy: 'Brazil has plentiful land, BTU-competitive fuel price, a high fraction of flex-fuel vehicles, low greenhouse gas emissions and demonstrated social and environmental benefits.'"