Abstract
Woody feedstocks will play a critical role in meeting the demand for biomass-based energy products in the US. We developed an integrated model using comparable system boundaries and common set of assumptions to ascertain unit cost and greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of electricity and ethanol derived from slash pine (Pinus elliottii) at the production and consumption levels by considering existing automobile technologies. We also calculated abatement cost of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with respect to comparable energy products derived from fossil fuels. The production cost of electricity derived using wood chips was at least cheaper by 1 ¢ MJ−1 over electricity derived from wood pellets. The production cost of ethanol without any income from cogenerated electricity was costlier by about 0.7 ¢ MJ−1 than ethanol with income from cogenerated electricity. The production cost of electricity derived from wood chips was cheaper by at least 0.7 ¢ MJ−1 than the energy equivalent cost of ethanol produced in presence of cogenerated electricity. The cost of using ethanol as a fuel in a flex-fuel vehicle was at least higher by 6 ¢ km−1 than a comparable electric vehicle. The GHG intensity of per km distance traveled in a flex-fuel vehicle was greater or lower than an electric vehicle running on electricity derived from wood chips depending on presence and absence of GHG credits related with co-generated electricity. A carbon tax of at least $7 Mg CO2e−1 and $30 Mg CO2e−1 is needed to promote wood-based electricity and ethanol production in the US, respectively. The range of abatement cost of GHG emissions is significantly dependent on the harvest age and selected baseline especially for electricity generation.
Highlights
The electricity and transportation sectors of the US economy emitted 57% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (6753 million Mg CO2e) in 2011 [1]
A few studies have analyzed economic and environmental potential of utilizing forest biomass for generating electricity [6,7,8,9,10,11,12] and producing ethanol [13,14,15,16,17,18,19]. These studies indicate that wood-based energy products could save significant amounts of GHG emissions but are costlier than equivalent energy products derived from fossil fuels
A consideration of both economic and environmental performances of different bioenergy products in a single framework is critical to compare cost-effectiveness of various GHG mitigation options to minimize total cost related with the reduction of GHG emissions at the national and regional levels [25]
Summary
The electricity and transportation sectors of the US economy emitted 57% of total GHG emissions (6753 million Mg CO2e) in 2011 [1]. A few studies have analyzed economic and environmental potential of utilizing forest biomass for generating electricity [6,7,8,9,10,11,12] and producing ethanol [13,14,15,16,17,18,19] These studies indicate that wood-based energy products could save significant amounts of GHG emissions (about 80% or more) but are costlier (at least 15% or more) than equivalent energy products derived from fossil fuels. This becomes even more important as the majority of existing studies focus on short rotation woody crops like willow [8,11,16], eucalyptus [18], and poplar [19]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
