Wind energy is considered a promising alternative to fossil fuels that cause air pollution and contribute to global warming. Since 2000 wind energy has become one of the fastest-growing sources of renewable energy in the United States (U.S. DOE). In 2018, wind power generated about 7% of total electricity and about 39% of renewable electricity […]
Author Archive | Prasenjit N. Ghosh, Ruiqing Miao and Madhu Khanna
Limited Impact of Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) Under Current Funding Levels
Established in the 2008 Farm Bill and re-authorized in the 2014 Farm Bill, the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) aims to promote biomass production for bioenergy and bio-products by providing growers and bio-refineries with subsidies for biomass production. The total budget for the BCAP is limited to $125 million over 2014-2018 by the 2014 Farm […]
Reducing costs of meeting a cellulosic biofuel mandate with perennial energy crops: potential roles of energy crop insurance and establishment cost subsidies
By Ruiqing Miao and Madhu Khanna on May 8, 2017 in Agriculture, Commodities, Consumer, Economics, Energy
Cellulosic biofuel production in the United States has been growing since 2014 with establishment of a few commercial scale bio-refineries and increasing total production. According to the 2016 Renewable Fuel Standard Data of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), total production of cellulosic biofuels in the United States reached 192 million gallons in 2016.[1] EPA’s proposed 2017 […]
To Harvest Stover or Not: Is it Worth it?
By Nicholas Paulson and Madhu Khanna on March 3, 2016 in Agriculture, Economics, Energy, Environment
Corn stover is a readily available source of biomass for the production of biofuels. Three U.S. refineries – Poet, Abengoa and Dupont – are converting it at commercial scale to biofuel. These biofuel facilities partner and contract with farmers to procure the stover feedstock used in processing. Farmers face a choice of whether or not […]
Growing a Sustainable Biofuel Economy: Part 1
The Environmental Appeal of Second-Generation Biofuels Second-generation biofuels from cellulosic feedstocks that were until recently thought to be always “five years away,” are now being produced commercially. In 2014, about 18 million gallons were produced, which was substantially higher than the 432,000 gallons produced in 2013. Poet-DSM and Abengoa are two of the refineries that […]
Policy Incentives for Energy Crop Production: Role of the Biomass Crop Assistance Program
The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has mandated that 16 billion gallons be produced from cellulosic feedstocks by 2022. Cellulosic feedstocks include dedicated energy crops (such as, Miscanthus and switchgrass), crop and forest residues. The mandate has been repeatedly waived, in part, due to lack of a commercially viable technology for biofuel production at reasonable cost […]