Abstract
Much of the analysis on the viability of biomass to energy focuses on the implications of utilizing biomass feedstocks on energy and food pathways, land use and the environment. However, to more accurately assess biomass energy potential, analysis also needs to include political economy and logistical constraints, such as institutional barriers, existing policies, and collection and delivery infrastructure. To demonstrate the importance of introducing such constraints into an assessment model, a biomass analysis conducted for New Jersey in 2007 is used as a case study. In this assessment, biomass potential for the state was calculated with and without political economy and logistical constraints. The case study shows that introducing political economy and logistical constraints have a significant impact on the estimated quantities of Class 1 biomass feedstocks available for energy production. In the New Jersey case, 35 % of total estimated biomass resources were unavailable for bioenergy generation when considering political economy and logistical constraints in the assessment model.
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Notes
- 1.
The Bioenergy Calculator is accessible at: http://bioenergy.rutgers.edu/biomass-energy-potential/default.asp.
- 2.
Class One Renewable Energy definition as provided by NJDEP: Class I renewable energy is defined as electricity derived from solar energy, wind energy, wave or tidal action, geothermal energy, landfill gas, anaerobic digestion, fuel cells using renewable fuels, and, with written permission of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), certain other forms of sustainable biomass.
- 3.
New Jersey Energy Master Plan [12, p. 1].
- 4.
New Jersey Energy Master Plan [12, p. 86].
- 5.
New Jersey Energy Master Plan [12, p. 103].
- 6.
- 7.
New Jersey Energy Master Plan [12, pp. 102–103].
- 8.
The calculator programming was developed by Navigant Consulting.
- 9.
This does NOT include biomass that is currently used for incineration or sewage sludge because these are not classified as Class I renewable feedstocks in New Jersey.
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Brennan-Tonetta, M., Hochman, G., Schilling, B. (2014). Impact of Political Economy and Logistical Constraints on Assessments of Biomass Energy Potential: New Jersey as a Case Study. In: Pinto, A., Zilberman, D. (eds) Modeling, Dynamics, Optimization and Bioeconomics I. Springer Proceedings in Mathematics & Statistics, vol 73. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04849-9_8
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