At the provision of solid fuels through energy plant cultivation, the highest energy yield can be achieved with stalk materials, such as cereal-whole plants or miscanthus (China reed). The surplus yield - in contrast to a wood production in energy forest plantations - is, however, bought with a multitude of disadvantages - especially at the exploitation of cereal. These concern above all the low energy density of the raw material and further fuel characteristics, such as ash content, ash melting behavior and emission-relevant contents. But even an unfavorable energy balance, the disadvantages at the total-ecological evaluation and the higher process costs speak for a reference of wood fuels.