'Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI)'
Doi
Abstract
Biomass crops (e.g. poplar, willow, switchgrass) could become important feedstocks for power, liquid fuel, and chemical production. This paper presents estimates of the potential production of biomass in the US under a range of assumptions. Estimates of potential biomass crop yields and production costs from the Department of Energy`s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL) are combined with measures of land rents from USDA`s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), to estimate a competitive supply of biomass wood and grass crops. Estimates are made for one potential biomass use--electric power production--where future costs of electricity production from competing fossil fuels set the demand price. The paper outlines the methodology used and limitations of the analysis
