solar energy

"On the contrary, the electro-biodiesel process can convert 4.5% of solar energy to lipids when a solar panel is used to produce electricity to drive electrocatalysis, which is much higher than the natural photosynthetic process."

Santa Cruz Farm grows 72 crops throughout the year and uses solar energy to power greenhouses and even water pumps.

Eddy said solar projects had protected the owls’ grasslands and that they’d been known to return to solar energy development sites once construction was completed.

Although the technology is still in its early stages and presents challenges, it has already dropped substantially in cost, and studies of similar technologies suggest these fuels could improve as rapidly as solar energy.

"There are millions of acres of public land across the West that have been degraded due to human use and would be ideal for solar energy development," Donnelly said.