Energy-Water Nexus: Many Uncertainties Remain about National and Regional Effects of Increased Use of Biofuel Production on Waer Resources

This Government Accountability Office Report (GAO 10-116) dated November 2009 finds that the extent to which increased biofuels production will affect the nation’s water resources depends on the type of feedstock selected and how and where it is grown. For example, to the extent that this increase is met from the cultivation of conventional feedstocks, such as corn, it could have greater water resource impacts than if the increase is met by next generation feedstocks, such as perennial grasses and woody biomass, according to experts and officials.