"The opportunity exists to produce gas from grass or pellets from grass and heat buildings or even use it for transport,'' Samson told a seminar sponsored by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy in Regina Tuesday.

"This (biomass) is a very viable option for the transportation sector,'' said Samson, who's based in Quebec.

Yet governments continue to pour millions into subsidies to produce ethanol and biodiesel, which are less energy efficient than biogas produced from switchgrass, said Samson, who's been working in the field of bioenergy development since 1991.