Suchergebnisse

Intro -- BIOMASS CROP ASSISTANCE PROGRAM: ELEMENTS AND CONSIDERATIONS -- Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data -- Contents -- Preface -- Chapter 1: Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP): Status and Issues* -- Summary -- BCAP Overview -- Legislative Origins -- Program Operation -- Annual and Establishment Payments -- Establishment Payments -- Annual Payments -- Eligible Land -- Eligible Producer -- Eligible Crop -- Contract -- USDA-Sponsor Agreement -- CHST Matching Payments -- Conversion Facilities -- Eligible Land -- Material Owner -- Eligible Material -- USDA-Biomass Conversion Facility Agreement -- Payment -- Project Areas -- BCAP Funding Status -- Funding under the 2008 Farm Bill -- Interim Funding in FY2013 -- Funding under the 2014 Farm Bill -- BCAP Implementation Status -- Implementation under the 2008 Farm Bill -- Changes to BCAP in 2014 Farm Bill -- Selected Issues -- Eligible Crops and Material -- Wood Residue Competition -- Invasive and Noxious Species -- "Black Liquor" -- Sustainability -- Cellulosic Biofuels' Slow Development -- End Notes -- Chapter 2: BCAP: Biomass Crop Assistance Program, Energy Feedstocks from Farmers & -- Foresters* -- Introduction -- Billion Ton Update -- Context -- Program Design -- Major Findings -- End-Use Facilities Must Have Relationships with the Feedstock Producers -- Most Feedstock Producers Are Small Businesses That Require Financial Certainty -- Program Background -- History Summary -- The BCAP NOFA -- Findings with First Incarnation of Matching Payments -- Recommended Improvements to Matching Payments -- Environmental Compliance -- Establishment and Annual Payments in Project Areas -- Findings with BCAP Project Areas -- Other Project Area Considerations -- Costs Per Acre -- BCAP Annual Rental Payment Reductions -- BCAP Funding History -- BCAP Awards Cycle -- Funding Effects.

The pre-war development of the agricultural sector of Ukraine has taken place according to the model of modernization, based on specialization, intensification and expansion of the scale of production. However, European experience shows that this model is viable only in conditions of stable markets. The economic crisis caused by the hostilities forces agricultural producers to change their specialization in favor of diversified production. One of the ways to raise the economic sustainability of farms is to expand their activities through the production of niche crops. The article reveals the relevance of the production of niche agricultural crops during the (post)war period. The authors outline the main advantages (higher sales price, better adaptability to weather and climate conditions, the possibility of balancing crop rotation, lower competition on the market, etc.) that shape the economic potential of the above mentioned crops, and highlight the risks (the need for special agricultural technologies, high production cost, high price volatility, etc.), which inhibit their cultivation. It is noted that the expansion of crop rotation due to the inclusion of leguminous niche crops should become part of a broader (post)war strategy for the sustainable development of Ukraine's agricultural sector. Cultivation of niche vegetables is a component of resource-conserving agriculture, because crop rotation in vegetable production supports soil structure, controls soil erosion, and increases biodiversity. Obstacles to the spread of niche vegetable production are highlighted. The authors consider various new vegetables that are currently becoming part of the culture of consumption and have considerable prospects (sweet potato, Jerusalem artichoke, etc.), and point out the possibility of adapting the European experience of growing various vegetables in combination with the installation of solar panels (agrovoltaics). Under the conditions of (post)war recovery, the cultivation of niche energy crops would contribute to the diversification of agricultural production, strengthening the economic stability of agricultural producers, increasing the level of environmental friendliness of the energy sector, and shaping the energy independence of rural areas. The article highlights the European experience of mapping agro-ecological technologies, which will make it easier for agricultural producers to introduce new crops, in particular the niche ones, and technologies.

'Flex crops' such as corn, oil palm and soy are understood to have multiple, interchangeable uses; they have material flexibility. We propose that discursive flexibility – the ability to strategically switch between discourses to promote an objective – equally shapes the political economy of flex crops, and thereby patterns of agrarian and environmental change. Comparing oil palm and Jatropha curcas, we find that actors who cast oil palm as a multi-scale solution to food and energy insecurity, climate change and (rural) poverty successfully reinforce its high material flexibility. Jatropha's proponents compensate for low material flexibility by positioning the crop as a 'sustainable' energy source that achieves both global and local goals. While this paper focuses on discourses that reinforce the oil palm and jatropha projects, understanding the power of discursive

Biomass produced from perennial energy crops is expected to contribute to UK renewable energy targets, reducing the carbon intensity of energy production. The UK government has had incentive policies in place targeting both farmers and power plant investors to develop this market, but growth has been slower than anticipated. Market expansion requires the interaction of farmers growing these crops, with the construction of biomass power plants or other facilities to consume them. This paper uses an agent-based model to investigate behaviour of the UK energy crop market and examines the cost of emission abatement that the market might provide. The model is run for various policy scenarios attempting to answer the following questions: Do existing policies for perennial energy crops provide a cost effective mechanism in stimulating the market to achieve emissions abatement? What are the relative benefits of providing incentives to farmers or energy producers? What are the trade-offs between increased or decreased subsidy levels and the rate and level of market uptake, and hence carbon abatement? The results suggest that maintaining the energy crop scheme, which provides farmers' establishment grants, can increase both the emissions abatement potential and cost effectiveness. A minimum carbon equivalent abatement cost is seen at intermediate subsidy levels for energy generation. This suggests that there is an optimum level that cost effectively stimulates the market to achieve emissions reduction.

Front Cover -- Decision-Making for Biomass-Based Production Chains -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Preface -- 1 Introduction to Biomass-Resources, Production, Harvesting, Collection, and Storage -- 1.1 Biomass Concept and the Main Biomass Resources -- 1.1.1 Dedicated Energy Crops -- 1.1.1.1 Herbaceous Energy Crops -- 1.1.1.2 Woody Energy Crops -- 1.1.1.3 Plantation and Harvesting of Dedicated Energy Crops -- 1.1.1.3.1 Site Selection and Preplanting Site Preparation -- 1.1.1.3.2 Planting and Harvesting -- 1.1.1.4 Treatment and Storage of Dedicated Energy Crops -- 1.1.2 Residues -- 1.1.2.1 Agricultural Residues -- 1.1.2.2 Forestry Residues -- 1.1.2.3 Harvesting, Treatment and Storage of Residues -- 1.1.3 Wastes -- 1.1.3.1 Animal Wastes -- 1.1.3.2 Municipal Solid Waste -- 1.1.3.3 Wastewater and Sewage Sludge -- 1.1.3.4 Industrial Wastes -- 1.1.3.5 Treatment and Storage of Wastes -- 1.2 Recent Trends in Biomass Production -- 1.3 Discussion -- References -- Further Reading -- 2 Biomass-Based Production Systems -- 2.1 The Main Systems, Technologies, and Processes for Biomass-Based Production -- 2.1.1 Thermochemical Conversion Technologies -- 2.1.1.1 Combustion -- 2.1.1.2 Gasification -- 2.1.1.3 Pyrolysis -- 2.1.1.4 Hydrothermal Liquefaction -- 2.1.2 Biochemical Conversion Technologies -- 2.1.2.1 Anaerobic Digestion -- 2.1.2.2 Fermentation -- 2.1.3 Biomass Extraction -- 2.2 Recent Trends in Biomass-Based Production Technologies -- 2.3 Discussion -- References -- 3 Biomass-Based Supply Chains and Logistics Networks -- 3.1 General Structures and Key Components of Biomass-Based Supply Chains -- 3.1.1 Biomass Cultivation, Harvesting, Collection, and Storage -- 3.1.2 Biomass Pretreatment -- 3.1.3 Biomass Transportation -- 3.1.3.1 Transportation of Dedicated Energy Crops, Residues, and Wastes -- 3.1.4 Biomass Conversion

Bioenergy crops are expected to play an important role in reducing CO2 emission, in energy supply and in European energy policy. However, a sustainable bioenergy supply must be resilient to climate change and the impacts on agriculture at both global and regional scale. The purpose of this study was to forecast the potential distribution of several bioenergy crops based on agronomic and environmental constrains under current conditions and future scenarios (2020 and 2030) in European Union. Potential biomass yield, according to the category end use product achievable in each environmental zone of Europe at present and in the future available land have been also studied. Future yields were assessed according to two factors: technological development and climate change: the former was based on prospect of DG-Agriculture for conventional crops and expert judgments for bioenergy crops, while the latter based on relevant research papers and literature reviews which used site-specific crop growth models. Yields are expected to increase in northern Europe due to climate change and technological development, while in southerneastern Europe the negative effect of climate change will be mitigated by the technological development. The estimated total biomass production in Europe, on the basis of future yields and surplus land made available for energy crops, may not be sufficient to meet the needs of bioenergy supply as claimed in the European directive 2009/28/EC.

This study examines the economics of using crop residues to replace coal burning for energy in China in order to mitigate carbon emissions. About 60 per cent of the available crop residues are now used by rural households in China to replace coal so that the residues are already making a major contribution to controlling China's potential carbon emissions. Using the crop residues more efficiently in village or centralized facilities, shifting to crops with more residues, or growing energy crops can all further reduce carbon emissions. However, accounting for the costs of collecting, transporting, drying and storing crop residues and the foregone crop revenue, the study estimates that the marginal cost to remove more carbon emissions with crop residues will be high.

To achieve the UK Government's aim of expansion in the growth of perennial energy crops requires farmers to select these crops in preference to conventional rotations. Existing studies estimating the total potential resource have either only simplistically considered the farmer decision-making and opportunity costs, for example using an estimate of annual land rental charge; or have not considered spatial variability, for example using representative farm types. This paper attempts to apply a farm-scale modelling approach with spatially specific data to improve understanding of potential perennial energy crop supply. The model main inputs are yield maps for the perennial energy crops, Miscanthus and willow grown as short-rotation coppice (SRC), and regional yields for conventional crops. These are used to configure location specific farm-scale models, which optimize for profit maximization with risk aversion. Areas that are unsuitable or unavailable for energy crops, due to environmental or social factors, are constrained from selection. The results are maps of economic supply, assuming a homogenous farm-gate price, allowing supply cost curves for the UK market to be derived. The results show a high degree of regional variation in supply, with different patterns for each energy crop. Using estimates of yields under climate change scenarios suggests that Miscanthus supply may increase under future climates while the opposite effect is suggested for SRC willow. The results suggest that SRC willow is only likely to able to supply a small proportion of the anticipated perennial energy crop target, without increases in market prices. Miscanthus appears to have greater scope for supply, and its dominance may be amplified over time by the effects of climate change. Finally, the relationship to the demand side of the market is discussed, and work is proposed to investigate the factors impacting how the market as a whole may develop.

The paper presents the updates of Polish government policy , showing legal and financial instruments for governing the bioenergy developments. The strategy for renewable energy must be co-ordinated with the strategy of water management in a country. The water needs are given for cool climate and extensive agriculture of Central and Eastern Europe. They are 2-3 times lower than for hotter condition of Southern Europe. Despite this the rain 600 mm/year would be not enough for water supply of most of the energy crops.

In Guyana, cassava is the most important root crop; root crops occupy the 5th place of importance in national food crop production. The main cropping systems used by the farmers in the different regions of the country are described. More than 1 crop is planted to reduce risks; in the Pomeroon region, cassava is planted as an intercrop with tree crops such as citrus, avocado, and other mixed fruits. The lowest price was paid for cassava. Although the domestic demand for root and tuber crops is primarily as fresh food, cassava is also consumed processed (flour, starch, cassareep, bread). Since 1970 the government of Guyana has restricted the importation of energy-rich agricultural products; therefore, they have been replaced with locally produced root and tuber crops. During this same period, the Accelerated Production Drive program was started; its objective was to promote cassava production and its processing into flour and animal feed. Unfortunately, the program was not successful. The staff of the National Research Institute is listed; research has focused mainly on rice and cassava. The results of research carried out on root crops are briefly presented, and for cassava, it is proposed to continue the evaluation of cv. and to study the different cropping systems. (CIAT) ; En Guyana, la yuca es el cultivo de raices mas importante; estos cultivos ocupan el quinto lugar de importancia en el contexto de la produccion nacional. Se describen los principales sistemas de cultivo empleados por los agricultores en las diferentes regiones del pais. Generalmente se siembra mas de un cultivo para minimizar riesgos; en la region de Pomeroon, la yuca se intercala con cultivos arboreos como citricos, aguacate y otros frutales. La yuca es el cultivo de raices menos costoso. Aunque la demanda domestica de los cultivos de raices y tuberculos es principalmente en su forma fresca, la yuca tambien se consume en forma procesada (harina, almidon, casaripo, pan). Desde 1970, el gobierno de Guyana ha restringido las importaciones de productos agricolas ricos en energia; por lo tanto, se han reemplazado con los cultivos de raices y tuberculos producidos localmente. En el mismo periodo, se creo el programa Accelerated Production Drive, cuyo fin era promover la produccion de yuca y su procesamiento en harina y alimentos para animales; desafortunadamente el programa no tuvo exito. Se enumera el personal del National Research Institute, cuyo interes se ha enfocado principalmente en arroz y yuca. Se presentan brevemente los resultados de algunas investigaciones hechas sobre cultivos de raices y para yuca se propone continuar la evaluacion de cv. y estudiar los diferentes sistemas de cultivo. (CIAT)

To achieve the UK Government's aim of expansion in the growth of perennial energy crops requires farmers to select these crops in preference to conventional rotations. Existing studies estimating the total potential resource have either only simplistically considered the farmer decision-making and opportunity costs, for example using an estimate of annual land rental charge; or have not considered spatial variability, for example using representative farm types. This paper attempts to apply a farm-scale modelling approach with spatially specific data to improve understanding of potential perennial energy crop supply. The model main inputs are yield maps for the perennial energy crops, Miscanthus and willow grown as short-rotation coppice (SRC), and regional yields for conventional crops. These are used to configure location specific farm-scale models, which optimize for profit maximization with risk aversion. Areas that are unsuitable or unavailable for energy crops, due to environmental or social factors, are constrained from selection. The results are maps of economic supply, assuming a homogenous farm-gate price, allowing supply cost curves for the UK market to be derived. The results show a high degree of regional variation in supply, with different patterns for each energy crop. Using estimates of yields under climate change scenarios suggests that Miscanthus supply may increase under future climates while the opposite effect is suggested for SRC willow. The results suggest that SRC willow is only likely to able to supply a small proportion of the anticipated perennial energy crop target, without increases in market prices. Miscanthus appears to have greater scope for supply, and its dominance may be amplified over time by the effects of climate change. Finally, the relationship to the demand side of the market is discussed, and work is proposed to investigate the factors impacting how the market as a whole may develop.

Different types of agrobiomass (agricultural residues, agroindustrial byproducts, fast growing energy crops and short rotation coppice) is an abundant, indigenous energy resource that can be effectively used for meeting the European decarbonisation targets. There are many potential models and technical pathways for utilizing agrobiomass in this sense; one of the most promising is its use as a heating fuel in European rural areas and in applications such as households and farms, municipal and commercial buildings, and agro-industries and greenhouses. Despite the existence of some agrobiomass heating markets in Europe, mostly based on agroindustrial biomass byproducts or straw, the full market potential of agrobiomass heating is not realized due several limiting factors. The present paper introduces AgroBioHeat (www.agrobioheat.eu), a project funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, that aims to develop into a comprehensive platform for the market uptake of agrobiomass heating solutions through the implementation of a variety of activities design to develop trust in the capacity of this technology to decarbonize the rural heating market, develop vision for its deployment and provide support to a number of initiatives that will be implemented by the project. The paper serves as an introduction to the current framework conditions for agrobiomass heating and to the overall strategy and approach followed by the AgroBioHeat project.

In the European Union energy security have been driving the search for economically viable and environmentally sustainable renewable energy sources since the 90's. Energy crops could represent a good opportunity to combine the energy goals with the conservation of farmer incomes and the global climate change control. Giant reed (Arundo donax L.) is a perennial rhizomatous grass particularly attractive for energy production because of a high yield potential, a generally positive environmental impact and a good attitude to energy conversion. Long-term studies carried out in Central Italy confirmed its high production level, in both fertile and marginal lands (aboveground yields from 38 to 20 t ha–1 year–1). In addition, the crop highlighted a high growth rate at the beginning of the growing season, progressively decreasing in summer when high temperature and low water availability occurred. Giant reed nutrient requirements were generally low and part of nutrient stocks were remobilized from the rhizome to the aboveground biomass over the spring, with the opposite flow occurring in autumn. From an environmental point of view giant reed showed a positive energy balance with a high-energy efficiency. Compared to other energy crops, giant reed showed the lowest GHG emissions per unit of energy and the best performance in terms of cost per ton of dry biomass or per unit of energy. To improve knowledge on giant reed and to favour the diffusion of energy crops in Italian cropping systems, further studies are needed to analyze the long-term effects of giant reed on soil fertility and the optimal soil management after its cultivation. In our researches the environmental impacts of giant reed and its production costs were referred to the production phase. Therefore, there is the need to extend the research activity to the whole energy chain and to identify the most sustainable conversion technologies (e.g. biogas, 2nd generation bioethanol, etc.) for the different environments.

Energy cropping is well established in many countries, from Brazilian sugarcane to US corn ethanol to woody crops like poplar in Europe. Australia offers significant potential for energy crop expansion, especially as advances are made around cellulosic biofuels from woody biomass. A potential threat to this expansion is the criticism energy cropping has attracted, from the food vs fuel debate to the clearing of tropical rainforests for oil palm. One response has been the development of sustainability criteria and standards to ensure that governments do not promote forms of bioenergy that pose such threats. However, this alone may not be enough to ensure that energy cropping systems are able to earn and maintain a 'social licence to operate' from affected communities. The phrase 'social licence to operate' first emerged in the mining sector in the 1990s to describe the extent to which society is prepared to accept the resource use practices of private companies. It has since been applied to activities such as windfarms and agriculture. Energy cropping are well suited to analysis using the social licence concept because it presents not only environmental risks (which may threaten its social licence), but also potential benefits such as climate change mitigation and landscape protection, which may strengthen its social licence. This paper considers not only which energy crops currently have a social licence to operate, but also how resilient this social licence is likely to be in response to unexpected shocks and controversies. It will draw on lessons from overseas, where certain energy crops have shown signs of losing their social licence (e.g. first-generation biofuel crops in the EU) and other sectors, such as pulpwood plantations in southern Australia. The fact that a particular innovation offers an environmental benefit is no guarantee that it will obtain a social licence from affected communities, with a prominent example being opposition to wind farms in parts of Australia (Hall et al. 2015). However, if environmentally-beneficial practices are unable to earn and maintain a social licence, there is a risk that they may fail before their potential benefits are realised.