Skip to Content
Report an accessibility problem
Research

Research

Research

Summary

Recent regulations and variable oil prices have resulted in increased production of biofuels from second and third generation feedstocks. For example, in 2007 the US passed the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA). Many of these new policies call for the evaluation of the greenhouse gas emissions reductions of biofuels using life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA is a well-established sustainability tool for measuring the total environmental impacts of a product or process. We propose to build an LCA-based tool that will allow users to experiment with the implications of different US, state, and local biofuel policies that will evaluate different combinations of feedstocks, processing and conversion pathways to determine the effects that different policies will have on biofuel production and environmental impacts. This Proposal seeks to evaluate and develop policy options for achieving sustainable regional biofuels/bioenergy production and commercialization. We will address a diverse range of agricultural, biofuels, or environmental policy options and opportunities (e.g., standards, mandates, subsidies, tax credits, trade, and agricultural assistance programs) that may impact economic, environmental, social and other prospects. We will include review of the compatibility and challenges between Federal and State policies. Lastly we will address the indirect consequences of changes in agricultural markets and production decisions that policies may have.

Personnel

Funding

US Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Agriculture and Food Research Initiative

Timeline

August 2012 — July 2015