Researchers show integrated landscape management can lower biomass costs 20%
In Idaho, new techno-economic analysis by Idaho National Laboratory (INL) demonstrated that, by using integrated landscape management (ILM) techniques, bioenergy stakeholders could produce biomass at costs 20% lower than previous assumptions. The efficiencies gained using ILM practices could generate a new revenue stream for farmers, providing an economic motivation to produce biomass for the emerging bioeconomy.
ILM incorporates bioenergy crop designs to minimize soil erosion, harvesting crop residues such as corn stover or wheat straw in high-yield areas, and optimizing the operational efficiency of biomass harvest equipment using Global Positioning System data and computers to guide their movements through fields. Optimizing the operational efficiency of the harvest using modeling will reduce costs that align with BETO’s goal of achieving $2.50/gge.
Category: Research
