00:00This Asian supergrass is helping a French village slash its heating bills.
00:04Miscanthus originates in East Asia, where it's used for things like roofs or medicine.
00:09But it also caught the eye of farmers in northern France,
00:12because it needs minimal fertilizer, almost no maintenance,
00:16and it can grow incredibly fast, around 5 centimeters a day.
00:20This village actually uses it to heat public buildings.
00:23The grass is a great alternative to fuel oil, since it burns really easily.
00:27And it's considered climate-friendly, because Miscanthus absorbs lots of CO2 as it grows,
00:32which offsets some of its emissions once it's burned.
00:35But that's not the only benefit.
00:37The village also plants the grass close to its water source,
00:40because Miscanthus reduces nitrate in the soil.
00:43Less nitrate means cleaner groundwater and less treatment before we can drink it.
00:48There are also lots of ways to use this carbon-storing grass as a raw material,
00:52but that's still in the works.
00:53Is Miscanthus already growing where you live?
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