IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v57y2013icp518-531.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Maintaining environmental quality while expanding biomass production: Sub-regional U.S. policy simulations

Author

Listed:
  • Egbendewe-Mondzozo, Aklesso
  • Swinton, Scott M.
  • Izaurralde, R. César
  • Manowitz, David H.
  • Zhang, Xuesong

Abstract

This paper evaluates environmental policy effects on ligno-cellulosic biomass production and environmental outcomes using an integrated bioeconomic optimization model. The environmental policy integrated climate (EPIC) model is used to simulate crop yields and environmental indicators in current and future potential bioenergy cropping systems based on weather, topographic and soil data. The crop yield and environmental outcome parameters from EPIC are combined with biomass transport costs and economic parameters in a representative farmer profit-maximizing mathematical optimization model. The model is used to predict the impact of alternative policies on biomass production and environmental outcomes. We find that without environmental policy, rising biomass prices initially trigger production of annual crop residues, resulting in increased greenhouse gas emissions, soil erosion, and nutrient losses to surface and ground water. At higher biomass prices, perennial bioenergy crops replace annual crop residues as biomass sources, resulting in lower environmental impacts. Simulations of three environmental policies namely a carbon price, a no-till area subsidy, and a fertilizer tax reveal that only the carbon price policy systematically mitigates environmental impacts. The fertilizer tax is ineffectual and too costly to farmers. The no-till subsidy is effective only at low biomass prices and is too costly to government.

Suggested Citation

  • Egbendewe-Mondzozo, Aklesso & Swinton, Scott M. & Izaurralde, R. César & Manowitz, David H. & Zhang, Xuesong, 2013. "Maintaining environmental quality while expanding biomass production: Sub-regional U.S. policy simulations," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 518-531.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:57:y:2013:i:c:p:518-531
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.02.021
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421513001067
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.02.021?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Argyris Kanellopoulos & Paul Berentsen & Thomas Heckelei & Martin Van Ittersum & Alfons Oude Lansink, 2010. "Assessing the Forecasting Performance of a Generic Bio‐Economic Farm Model Calibrated With Two Different PMP Variants," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(2), pages 274-294, June.
    2. Richard E. Howitt, 1995. "Positive Mathematical Programming," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 77(2), pages 329-342.
    3. Daniel G. De La Torre Ugarte & Burton C. English & Kim Jensen, 2007. "Sixty Billion Gallons by 2030: Economic and Agricultural Impacts of Ethanol and Biodiesel Expansion," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 89(5), pages 1290-1295.
    4. Uwe A. Schneider & Bruce A. McCarl, 2006. "Appraising agricultural greenhouse gas mitigation potentials: effects of alternative assumptions," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 35(3), pages 277-287, November.
    5. Antle, John & Capalbo, Susan & Mooney, Sian & Elliott, Edward & Paustian, Keith, 2003. "Spatial heterogeneity, contract design, and the efficiency of carbon sequestration policies for agriculture," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 231-250, September.
    6. Egbendewe-Mondzozo, Aklesso & Swinton, Scott M. & Izaurralde, R. Cesar & Manowitz, David H. & Zhang, Xuesong, 2011. "Biomass Supply from Alternative Cellulosic Crops and Crop Residues: A Spatial Bioeconomic Modeling Approach," 2011 Annual Meeting, July 24-26, 2011, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 103435, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    7. Bruce A. McCarl & Thein Maung & Kenneth R. Szulczyk, 2010. "Could Bioenergy Be Used to Harvest the Greenhouse: An Economic Investigation of Bioenergy and Climate Change?," Natural Resource Management and Policy, in: Madhu Khanna & Jürgen Scheffran & David Zilberman (ed.), Handbook of Bioenergy Economics and Policy, chapter 0, pages 195-218, Springer.
    8. Richard E. Howitt, 1995. "A Calibration Method For Agricultural Economic Production Models," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(2), pages 147-159, May.
    9. Madhu Khanna & Xiaoguang Chen & Haixiao Huang & Hayri Onal, 2011. "Supply of Cellulosic Biofuel Feedstocks and Regional Production Pattern," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 93(2), pages 473-480.
    10. Tembo, Gelson & Epplin, Francis M. & Huhnke, Raymond L., 2003. "Integrative Investment Appraisal of a Lignocellulosic Biomass-to-Ethanol Industry," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 28(3), pages 1-23, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cloé Garnache & Scott M. Swinton & Joseph A. Herriges & Frank Lupi & R. Jan Stevenson, 2016. "Solving the Phosphorus Pollution Puzzle: Synthesis and Directions for Future Research," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 98(5), pages 1334-1359.
    2. Lukáš Moravec & Jana Hinke & Gabriela Kukalová & Adéla Šlapáková, 2019. "Comparison of Tax Burden on Farms in Selected US States," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 67(3), pages 839-851.
    3. Wei Li & Guomin Li & Rongxia Zhang & Wen Sun & Wen Wu & Baihui Jin & Pengfei Cui, 2017. "Carbon Reduction Potential of Resource-Dependent Regions Based on Simulated Annealing Programming Algorithm," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-17, July.
    4. Lu, Ze-Yu & Li, Wen-Hua & Xie, Bai-Chen & Shang, Li-Feng, 2015. "Study on China’s wind power development path—Based on the target for 2030," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 197-208.
    5. Naveen Adusumilli & Taesoo Lee & M. Edward Rister & Ronald D. Lacewell, 2014. "The Economics of Mitigation of Water Pollution Externalities from Biomass Production for Energy," Resources, MDPI, vol. 3(4), pages 1-13, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Skevas, T. & Swinton, S.M. & Meehan, T.D. & Kim, T.N. & Gratton, C. & Egbendewe-Mondzozo, A., 2014. "Integrating agricultural pest biocontrol into forecasts of energy biomass production," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 195-203.
    2. Egbendewe-Mondzozo, Aklesso & Swinton, Scott M. & Izaurralde, R. Cesar & Manowitz, David H. & Zhang, Xuesong, 2012. "Maintaining Environmental Quality while Expanding Energy Biomass Production: Policy Simulations from Michigan, USA," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126749, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Louhichi, Kamel & Flichman, Guillermo & Blanco Fonseca, Maria, 2009. "A generic template for FSSIM," Reports 57463, Wageningen University, SEAMLESS: System for Environmental and Agricultural Modelling; Linking European Science and Society.
    4. Petsakos, Athanasios & Rozakis, Stelios, 2015. "Calibration of agricultural risk programming models," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 242(2), pages 536-545.
    5. Boris O. K. Lokonon & Aklesso Y. G. Egbendewe & Naga Coulibaly & Calvin Atewamba, 2019. "The Potential Impact Of Climate Change On Agriculture In West Africa: A Bio-Economic Modeling Approach," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 10(04), pages 1-30, November.
    6. Garnache, Cloe & Merel, Pierre R. & Lee, Juhwan & Six, Johan, 2014. "Markets for Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Offsets: The Role of Policy Design on Abatement Efficiency," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 170718, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    7. Garnache, Cloé & Mérel, Pierre R. & Lee, Juhwan & Six, Johan, 2017. "The social costs of second-best policies: Evidence from agricultural GHG mitigation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 39-73.
    8. Okwo, Adaora & Thomas, Valerie M., 2014. "Biomass feedstock contracts: Role of land quality and yield variability in near term feasibility," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 67-80.
    9. Christina Moulogianni & Thomas Bournaris, 2021. "Assessing the Impacts of Rural Development Plan Measures on the Sustainability of Agricultural Holdings Using a PMP Model," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-13, April.
    10. He, Lixia & Horbulyk, Theodore M. & Ali, Md. Kamar & Le Roy, Danny G. & Klein, K.K., 2012. "Proportional water sharing vs. seniority-based allocation in the Bow River basin of Southern Alberta," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 21-31.
    11. Edwards, Brian K. & Howitt, Richard E. & Flaim, Silvio J., 1996. "Fuel, crop, and water substitution in irrigated agriculture," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 311-331, October.
    12. Britz, Wolfgang & Ciaian, Pavel & Gocht, Alexander & Kanellopoulos, Argyris & Kremmydas, Dimitrios & Müller, Marc & Petsakos, Athanasios & Reidsma, Pytrik, 2021. "A design for a generic and modular bio-economic farm model," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    13. Houcine Jeder & Mongi Sghaier & Kamel Louhichi & Pytrik Reidsma, 2014. "Bio-economic modelling to assess the impact of water pricing policies at the farm level in the Oum Zessar watershed, southern Tunisia [Modélisation bio-économique des politiques de tarification de ," Post-Print hal-04645966, HAL.
    14. Ali, Md Kamar & Klein, K.K., 2014. "Implications of current and alternative water allocation policies in the Bow River Sub Basin of Southern Alberta," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 1-11.
    15. Gunter, Allison & Goemans, Chris & Pritchett, James G. & Thilmany, Dawn D., 2012. "Linking an Equilibrium Displacement Mathematical Programming Model and an Input-Output Model to Estimate the Impacts of Drought: An Application to Southeast Colorado," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 124930, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    16. Hassani, Yousef & Hashemy Shahdany, Seied Mehdy & Maestre, J.M. & Zahraie, Banafsheh & Ghorbani, Mohammad & Henneberry, Shida Rastegari & Kulshreshtha, Suren N., 2019. "An economic-operational framework for optimum agricultural water distribution in irrigation districts without water marketing," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 348-361.
    17. Edwin Van Der Werf & Sonja Peterson, 2009. "Modeling linkages between climate policy and land use: an overview," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 40(5), pages 507-517, September.
    18. Chebil, A. & Frija, A. & Thabet, C., 2012. "Irrigation water pricing between governmental policies and farmers’ perception: Implications for green-houses horticultural production in Teboulba (Tunisia)," Agricultural Economics Review, Greek Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 11(2), pages 1-11.
    19. Roberta Sardone & Valentina Cardinale & Crescenzo Dell’aquila & Paola Doria & Roberto Solazzo & Alfredo Manuel Coelho & Etienne Montaigne & Vasco Boatto & Andrea Dal Bianco & Luigi Galletto & Luca Ros, 2012. "The liberalisation of planting rights in the EU wine sector," Working Papers hal-01499067, HAL.
    20. Dumortier, Jerome, 2013. "Co-firing in coal power plants and its impact on biomass feedstock availability," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 396-405.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:57:y:2013:i:c:p:518-531. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.