Competitiveness of biomassfueled electrical power plants uri icon

abstract

  • One way countries like the United States can comply with suggested rollbacks in greenhouse gas emissions is by employing power plants fueled with biomass. We examine the competitiveness of biomass-based fuel for electrical power as opposed to coal using a mathematical programming structure. We consider fueling power plants from milling residues, whole trees, logging residues, switch grass, or short-rotation woody crops. We do this using a combined model of the agricultural and forestry sectors. We find that the competitiveness of biomass depends in a key way upon the success of research in developing improved production methods for short-rotation woody crops without great increases in costs.

published proceedings

  • Annals of Operations Research

author list (cited authors)

  • McCarl, B. A., Adams, D. M., Alig, R. J., & Chmelik, J. T.

citation count

  • 64

complete list of authors

  • McCarl, Bruce A||Adams, Darius M||Alig, Ralph J||Chmelik, John T

publication date

  • January 2000