What are the most promising energy options from Ohio biomass technologies over the next 10 years?

[William A. Spratley]

The Green Energy Ohio 10th Annual Meeting on May 15, 2010 in Columbus  featured an excellent statewide overview of "Biomass for Energy in the Next Decade: An Environmental Economic Perspective," by Fred Hitzhusen, Professor Emeritus of Environmnetal and Natural Resource Economics, Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics at The Ohio State University.  See www.greenenergyohio.org/page.cfm?pageId=2672

 

This presentation with reviews research on net availability of  various forms of biomass feedstocks in Ohio as well as our environmental economic assessment of selected feedstock and end use conversion scenarios. Several promising future biomass for energy senarios will be identified and discussed.  Below s an outline of the Hitzhusen presentation with details in his downloadable .pdf in [Part 1] and [Part 2:

I. Biomass Energy Sources, Problems for Ohio
   • crop and forest residues
   • municipal solid wastes
   • livestock manure
   • food processing wastes
   • CRP land residues
   • problems/limitations

II. Economic Analysis of Biomass for Energy
   1. key economic concepts
   2. pollution externality
   3. environmental economics
   4. social costs and subsidies of energy
   5. political economy of energy policy

III. Environmental Economic Assessment Cases
   • pollution reduction and biofuels from dairy waste
   • benefits and costs of abandoned coal mine reclamation
   • willingness-to-pay for biodiesel environmental benefits
   • OH-MARKAL

IV. Biomass for Energy – Future
   1. Biomass MC or supply function
   2. Biomass for energy – next decade
   3. Future energy research and policy agenda – Ohio
   4. Key references