Alternative Fuels Cropping Up

It's not a new idea and it could only ever be a stop gap in fuel terms because if, for example, we covered England in fuel crops, we wouldn't produce enough of the stuff to fuel current road use, so I'm told. But note that part of the proposal is to use grown hydrocarbons to produce plastics etc, which sounds more do-able. However, I worry that this is still a bit too much like propping up the old paradigm rather than exploring new ways of doing things....?