Biomass inventory
Aaron Fetterman
Issue date: 4/21/08 Section: News
The Energy Bill (signed into law in 2007) mandates that the U.S. produce 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2022. New York consumes 5.3% of the nation's fuel, including 5.67 billion gallons of gas and 330 million gallons of ethanol per year. If New York maintained its current rate of consumption, we would require 1.9 billion gallons of the 36 billion mandated by the bill. In his honors thesis presentation, Ben Brown-Steiner researched sources for this fuel.
He considered residues that could be turned into fuel, ignoring potential for dedicated crops. Of all the biomass in New York, only some produce enough energy for ethanol: wheat, corn, apples, and cheese.
To calculate the amount of ethanol New York could produce, Brown-Steiner calculated the potential in three scenarios: a realistic scenario, an optimistic scenario, and a very optimistic scenario. In each scenario, though, he considered different allocations of some resources. He assumed that all of the residues would get to a processing plant.
Under the realistic scenario, New York's ethanol potential was 14% of the 1.9 billion gallons. In the optimistic and very optimistic scenarios, it was 23.8% and 39.2%, respectively.
While New York does have the capacity for a few 25 million gallons per year ethanol facilities, Brown-Steiner concluded that New York could definitely not pull its own weight for renewable fuels by 2022.
He considered residues that could be turned into fuel, ignoring potential for dedicated crops. Of all the biomass in New York, only some produce enough energy for ethanol: wheat, corn, apples, and cheese.
To calculate the amount of ethanol New York could produce, Brown-Steiner calculated the potential in three scenarios: a realistic scenario, an optimistic scenario, and a very optimistic scenario. In each scenario, though, he considered different allocations of some resources. He assumed that all of the residues would get to a processing plant.
Under the realistic scenario, New York's ethanol potential was 14% of the 1.9 billion gallons. In the optimistic and very optimistic scenarios, it was 23.8% and 39.2%, respectively.
While New York does have the capacity for a few 25 million gallons per year ethanol facilities, Brown-Steiner concluded that New York could definitely not pull its own weight for renewable fuels by 2022.
Be the first to comment on this story