Oregon Public Broadcasting

Poplar trees have become a cheap source of pulp for paper production in Washington and Oregon. Now, with the help of a federal grant, a Washington State University scientist will study turning the hefty crop into ethanol. Correspondent Anna King reports.

Jon Johnson is in search of the perfect tree to make ethanol. He thinks poplars could be the new corn when it comes to biofuel. That's if he can find the right variety.

Jon Johnson: "The trees have an advantage in that you don't have to harvest them annually. That's a real problem with annual crops because you harvest them, transport them somewhere and store them at the ethanol plant."

Johnson calls poplars an on demand fuel source. Trees can be chopped down year round, chipped up and then fermented to create ethanol.

Johnson says poplar trees would make an excellent source of ethanol because the trees are cheap to grow and don't require lots of plowing or fertilizer.

Johnson says a 950-acre farm could yield enough trees to produce one million gallons of ethanol each year. Initial studies suggest the fuel could be made commercially for less than $1 a gallon.