|
|
|
Sort Order |
|
|
|
Items / Page
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Srl | Item |
| 1 |
ID:
177381
|
|
|
|
|
| Summary/Abstract |
Using a framework that meshes mechanism design theory and real options analysis, we recover the contract terms that a biomass processing plant would offer a farmer to induce conversion of land to perennial energy crops. We consider three contract terms: performance payment (price per dry ton of biomass), establishment payment (one-time payment per acre planted), and acreage payment (annual payment per acre planted). We find that, in equilibrium, the contract signed by farmers and buyers of Miscanthus (the perennial energy crop of choice in our analysis) uses a combination of all three payments. Conditional on the equilibrium contract, we show how changes in the structure of the Biomass Crop Assistance Program affect cost and risk along the vertical supply chain. Our analysis reveals that subsidies to both establishment and acreage payments are equally cost-effective in reducing production cost of cellulosic biofuels. However, establishment subsidies are more effective at reducing risk for the buyer and, therefore, dominate acreage subsidies from a risk-adjusted cost-effectiveness criterion. This suggests that a larger share of the Biomass Crop Assistance Program budget should be allocated to establishment subsidies to the detriment of matching payments (subsidies to performance payments) and maintenance payments (subsidies to acreage payments).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2 |
ID:
136240
|
|
|
|
|
| Summary/Abstract |
Community views toward the risks and benefits of emerging renewable energy technologies are important factors in facility siting decisions and their eventual success. While the actual socioeconomic and biophysical impacts of proposed industrial developments are fraught with uncertainty, understanding public perceptions is critical in managing costs and benefits to local citizens. Here, we explore the social acceptability of forest-based biorefineries in Maine using random utility modeling to identify how project attributes and citizen characteristics interact to affect level of support. Using a statewide sample (Statewide) and a subsample of mill towns (Mill Towns), we found that: (1) in both samples, individual characteristics had similar coefficients and significance levels except for pro-environment attitudes; (2) the coefficients related to the industry’s negative attributes were notably different between the two samples, while positive attributes were not; (3) in both samples, positive industry attributes such as “producing products from a sustainable resource” and “increased economic development” were the most influential variables in determining the level of support for a new biorefinery in an individual’s community; and (4) in general, Mill Town respondents were more accepting of potential negative attributes such as increased levels of truck traffic, odor, noise, and air and water pollution.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 3 |
ID:
103621
|
|
|
|
|
| Publication |
2011.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
Research efforts to allow large-scale conversion of cellulose into biofuels are being undertaken in the US and EU. These efforts are designed to increase logistic and conversion efficiencies, enhancing the economic competitiveness of cellulosic biofuels. However, not enough attention has been paid to the future market conditions for cellulosic biofuels, which will determine whether the necessary private investment will be available to allow a cellulosic biofuels industry to emerge. We examine the future market for cellulosic biofuels, differentiating between cellulosic ethanol and 'drop-in' cellulosic biofuels that can be transported with petroleum fuels and have equivalent energy values. We show that emergence of a cellulosic ethanol industry is unlikely without costly government subsidies, in part because of strong competition from conventional ethanol and limits on ethanol blending. If production costs of drop-in cellulosic biofuels fall enough to become competitive, then their expansion will not necessarily cause feedstock prices to rise. As long as local supplies of feedstocks that have no or low-valued alternative uses exist, then expansion will not cause prices to rise significantly. If cellulosic feedstocks come from dedicated biomass crops, then the supply curves will have a steeper slope because of competition for land.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 4 |
ID:
121261
|
|
|
|
|
| Publication |
2013.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
This paper examines the economic and GHG implications of stacking a low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) with and without a carbon price policy on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). We compare the performance of various policy combinations for food and fuel prices, fuel mix and fuel consumption. We also analyze the economic costs and benefits of alternative policy combinations and their distributional effects for consumers and producers in the transportation and agricultural sector in the US. Using a dynamic, multi-market, partial equilibrium model of the transportation and agricultural sectors, we find that combining the RFS with an LCFS policy leads to a reduction in first generation biofuels and an increase in second generation biofuels compared to the RFS alone. This policy combination also achieves greater reduction in GHG emissions even after considering offsetting market mediated effects. Imposition of a carbon price with the RFS and LCFS policy primarily induces fuel conservation and achieves larger GHG emissions reduction compared to the other policy scenarios. All these policy combinations lead to higher net economic benefits for the transportation and agricultural sectors relative to the no policy baseline because they improve the terms of trade for US.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|