PUBLIC POLICY SUPPORT IS CRITICAL FOR ADVANCED BIORENEWABLE ENERGY TO THRIVE, BUT POLICY DESIGN ALWAYS STRUGGLES TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS BASED ON SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS AND EVIDENCES. OUR GOAL IS TO PROVIDE AN INTEGRATED MODEL-BASED ASSESSMENT OF THE SOCIOECONOMIC, POLICY, AND MARKET IMPLICATIONS OF SUSTAINABLE BIOENERGY DERIVED FROM CELLULOSIC BIOMASS.OBJECTIVE 1: WE WILL GATHER FEEDSTOCK SUPPLY INFORMATION FOR DEDICATED ENERGY CROPS FROM CENUSA, ANDESTIMATE THE ECONOMIC COSTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF CONVERTING CELLULOSIC BIOMASS TO VALUABLE ENERGY PRODUCTS.OBJECTIVE 2: WEATTEMPTTO OVERCOME THE FEEDSTOCK SUPPLY LIMITATION OF LARGE DRAW AREAS BY INVESTIGATING MARKET AND POLICY FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE FARMER PARTICIPATION. WE WILL SURVEY FARMERS FOR THEIR WILLINGNESS TO SUPPLYAND USE HEDONIC PRICING MODEL TO BUILD A DIFFERENTIATED PRICE STRUCTURE, WHICH WILL INFLUENCE FARMER PARTICIPATION AND THUS AFFECTING FEEDSTOCK PRICE AND SUPPLYOBJECTIVE 3: WE WILL ASSESS THE MARKET OF SUSTAINABLE BIOENERGY IN THE NATIONAL ENERGY SYSTEM. USING THE RESULTS FROM OBJECTIVE 1&2, WE WILL DEVELOP A NEMS MODEL FRAMEWORK FOR CELLULOSIC BIOFUELS, LIGNOCOAL, AND BIOCHAR. WE WILLESTIMATE THE DYNAMICS BETWEENBIORENEWABLE PRODUCTS AND RELEVANTSOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS IN THE NATIONAL ENERGY MARKET.OBJECTIVE 4: ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVE BIOENERGY POLICIES. WE WILL ESTIMATE THE COSTS, BENEFITS, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONSIMPACTS OF A SET OFPOLICIES, INCLUDING THE RFS (WITH AND WITHOUT CELLULOSIC WAIVER CREDITS), NATIONWIDE LCFS, CLEAN POWER PLAN, CARBON TAX, AND INCENTIVES FOR FLEX FUEL VEHICLE.OUR OBJECTIVES FIT WELL WITH THE PROGRAMS GOALS THAT EVALUATE POLICY INSTRUMENTS TO STIMULATE MARKET EXPANSION AND DEVELOPMENT. THE PROJECT IS RELEVANT TO THE MIDWEST BIOENERGY SYSTEM - CENUSA. THIS INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH OFFERS AN NOVEL, UNIFIED MODEL FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE BIOENERGY THAT ALLOWS TESTING OF MULTIPLE SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS AND POLICY TOOLS. FINDINGS WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE KNOWLEDGEPOOL OF SUSTAINABLE BIOENERGY AND INFORM POLICY-MAKING.
$499,622FY2017National Institute of Food and AgricultureUSDA
Iowa State University Of Science And Technology