Evaluating the economics of biomass energy production in the Watts Bar region

Conference · Fri Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1993

OSTI ID:140297

Alexander, R R; English, B C; Bhat, M G ^[1]; Graham, R L ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
2. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

While the commercial potential of biofuel technology is becoming more feasible, it is not clear whether the supply of biomass feedstock will be available in competitive markets. In order to exploit the potential of biomass crops as a reliable source of biofuels, a significant commitment on the part of farmers to convert large amounts of cropland would be required. Dedicated energy crops have to compete with conventional crops which could result in significant interregional shifts in crop production. Those changes could further affect overall agricultural production, food prices, consumer spending, and government spending on farm programs. Evaluating these economic impacts provides important information for the ongoing debate. This research is a case study incorporating an existing power plant. The objective of this project is to evaluate the potential of short rotation woody crops as a fuel source in the Watts Bar facility located in eastern Tennessee. The appraisal includes estimates of environmental impacts as well as of economic feasibility. This is achieved by estimating the amounts of biomass that would be supplied at a predetermined price. By changing prices of biomass at the plant in an incremental fashion, a regional supply curve for biomass is estimated. The model incorporates current agricultural production possibilities in the region along with the proposed short rotation woody crop production activities. In order to adequately model the landscape, several variables are considered. These variables include soil type, crop production, government policy, land use conversion to crop land, and distance from the plant. Environmental issues including erosion, chemical usage, and potential leaching are also incorporated within the modeling framework; however, only estimates on erosion are available in this analysis. Output from the model provides insight on where and what types of land should shift from current land use to biomass production.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)
• OSTI ID: 140297
• Report Number(s): NREL/CP--200-5768-Vol.1; CONF-9308106--Vol.1; ON: DE93010050
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
BIOMASS PLANTATIONS
CROPS
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
EROSION
FOOD
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
LAND USE
LEACHING
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
PRICES
PRODUCTION
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
RENEWABLE RESOURCES
SHORT ROTATION CULTIVATION
SOILS
TENNESSEE
WOOD FUELS
WOOD-FUEL POWER PLANTS