Long-run effects of falling cellulosic ethanol production costs on the US agricultural economy
Abstract
Renewable energy production has been expanding at a rapid pace. New advances in cellulosic ethanol technologies have the potential to displace the use of petroleum as a transportation fuel, and could have significant effects on both the agricultural economy and the environment. In this letter, the effects of falling cellulosic ethanol production costs on the mix of ethanol feedstocks employed and on the US agricultural economy are examined. Results indicate that, as expected, cellulosic ethanol production increases by a substantial amount as conversion technology improves. Corn production increases initially following the introduction of cellulosic technology, because producers enjoy new revenue from sales of corn stover. After cellulosic ethanol production becomes substantially cheaper, however, acres are shifted from corn production to all other agricultural commodities. Essentially, this new technology could facilitate the exploitation of a previously under-employed resource (corn stover), resulting in an improvement in overall welfare. Thus in the most optimistic scenario considered, 68% of US ethanol is derived from cellulosic sources, coarse grain production is reduced by about 2%, and the prices of all food commodities are reduced modestly.
- Authors:
-
- Texas A&M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)
- Oklahoma State Univ., Stillwater, OK (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Texas A&M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1095796
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-DANF-0003046-5039
Journal ID: ISSN 1748-9326; 28302-P
- Grant/Contract Number:
- EE0003046
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Environmental Research Letters
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 2010; Journal Issue: 5; Journal ID: ISSN 1748-9326
- Publisher:
- IOP Publishing
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; 09 BIOMASS FUELS; biofuels; grain ethanol; cellulosic ethanol; corn stover; switchgrass; food prices; land-use change; greenhouse gas emissions
Citation Formats
Bryant, Henry L., Campiche, Jody L., and Richardson, James W. Long-run effects of falling cellulosic ethanol production costs on the US agricultural economy. United States: N. p., 2010.
Web. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/5/1/014018.
Bryant, Henry L., Campiche, Jody L., & Richardson, James W. Long-run effects of falling cellulosic ethanol production costs on the US agricultural economy. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/5/1/014018
Bryant, Henry L., Campiche, Jody L., and Richardson, James W. Tue .
"Long-run effects of falling cellulosic ethanol production costs on the US agricultural economy". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/5/1/014018. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1095796.
@article{osti_1095796,
title = {Long-run effects of falling cellulosic ethanol production costs on the US agricultural economy},
author = {Bryant, Henry L. and Campiche, Jody L. and Richardson, James W.},
abstractNote = {Renewable energy production has been expanding at a rapid pace. New advances in cellulosic ethanol technologies have the potential to displace the use of petroleum as a transportation fuel, and could have significant effects on both the agricultural economy and the environment. In this letter, the effects of falling cellulosic ethanol production costs on the mix of ethanol feedstocks employed and on the US agricultural economy are examined. Results indicate that, as expected, cellulosic ethanol production increases by a substantial amount as conversion technology improves. Corn production increases initially following the introduction of cellulosic technology, because producers enjoy new revenue from sales of corn stover. After cellulosic ethanol production becomes substantially cheaper, however, acres are shifted from corn production to all other agricultural commodities. Essentially, this new technology could facilitate the exploitation of a previously under-employed resource (corn stover), resulting in an improvement in overall welfare. Thus in the most optimistic scenario considered, 68% of US ethanol is derived from cellulosic sources, coarse grain production is reduced by about 2%, and the prices of all food commodities are reduced modestly.},
doi = {10.1088/1748-9326/5/1/014018},
journal = {Environmental Research Letters},
number = 5,
volume = 2010,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Mar 09 00:00:00 EST 2010},
month = {Tue Mar 09 00:00:00 EST 2010}
}
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