Sun Grant/TAES Internal Research Project

Regional Comparative Advantage for Woody Biofuels Production

Donald G. Hodges, Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries (PI)
Timothy M. Young, Forest Products Center
Robert C. Abt, NC State University

Abstract:
This project will identify and project spatial comparative advantage in the three main components of delivered wood fiber costs:  resource cost, logging, and transportation.  While several prior studies have examined the availability of wood for biomass or the transportation costs associated with cellulosic biomass, this project will be the first to incorporate all costs associated with providing woody biomass to biorefineries and to evaluate the economic supply from all sources.  The project will develop geo-referenced estimates of logging and transportation costs and incorporate these costs into an existing timber supply model to develop cost curves for delivered woody biomass at locations throughout the southern United States.  The project will consist of three modules that will be aggregated to provide spatially explicit estimates of standing volume and residues available for bioenergy:  1) the SubRegional Timber Supply (SRTS) model that utilizes USDA Forest Service inventory data and an economic supply and demand framework to project timber inventory, supply, and price into the future; 2) a GIS-based logging cost model to estimate the costs associated with harvesting standing trees; and 3) a transportation model to calculate the optimal paths and costs of transporting biomass to potential biorefinery sites.

Funded: July, 2007
Projected End Date: January, 2009

Reports and Publications:
None to date