In order to support the advancement and successful application of economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable bioenergy and bioproduct technologies, the objective of this R & D project…

In order to support the advancement and successful application of economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable bioenergy and bioproduct technologies, the objective of this R & D project is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the life cycle economic and environmental costs incurred by their production and use. A critical impediment to the use of woody biomass feedstocks such as short-rotation woody crops (e.g., shrub willow) and forest biomass by bioenergy and bioproduct facilities is their limited production on a commercial scale to date. This lack of volume has discouraged industry participants, regulators, and the public from supporting an industry with the potential to improve the economies of rural communities as well as the global environment. A similar lack of data regarding feedstock costs has hindered commercialization of cellulosic bioenergy pathways in particular, limiting the data available regarding the pathways' economic and environmental costs as well. Participants all along the supply chain from growers to end users to investors require a complete understanding of both economic and environmental costs and their interactions before investing in cellulosic bioenergy and bioproduct projects due to their large impact on the projects' economic and environmental feasibility. Life cycle economic costs affect this feasibility directly since, without positive economic feasibility, any positive environmental impacts resulting from the projects' success cannot be attained. Life cycle environmental costs in the form of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions affect economic feasibility indirectly and environmental feasibility directly since the participation of cellulosic biofuel producers in the U.S. Renewable fuel standard (RFS2) requires them to meet a 60% GHG emission reduction threshold relative to petroleum. In addition across the U.S. There are nearly 500 federal, state and regional policies that address the use of woody biomass for energy applications, many of which include guidelines related to environmental parameters (ebers ET AL. 2015). Having a clear and comprehensive understanding of economic and environmental costs and benefits of woody biomass in different bioenergy systems is necessary to foster the growth and development of these industries.awarded start date: 11/1/15