The Economics of Mitigation of Water Pollution Externalities from Biomass Production for Energy

Naveen Adusumilli, Taesoo Lee, M. Edward Rister and Ronald D. Lacewell
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Naveen Adusumilli: Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, 262 Research Station Drive, Bossier City, LA 71112, USA
Taesoo Lee: Department of Geography, Chonnam National University, Buk-Gu, Gwangju 500-757, Korea
M. Edward Rister: Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, 600 John Kimbrough, 2124 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-2124, USA
Ronald D. Lacewell: Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, 600 John Kimbrough, 2124 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-2124, USA

Resources, 2014, vol. 3, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: To fulfill the national bioenergy goals of the United States, conversion of marginal lands to intensive biomass crop production and/or application of greater amounts of nutrients to existing cropland could be expected. Such change in agricultural practices could produce unintended environmental consequences such as water quality degradation. Select Best Management Practices (BMPs) are evaluated for water quality mitigation effectiveness as well as for their relative cost-effectiveness, issues that are often ignored in evaluation of biofuels as a sustainable solution for energy demand. The water quality impacts of converting pastureland to intensive biomass production for biofuel, evaluated using the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), indicate significant increases in erosion and nutrient loadings to water bodies. Hydrologic and economic evaluation of the BMPs indicate their implementation produced effective water pollution mitigation but at substantial costs, accentuating the sustainability issue related to the economics of renewable fuels. U.S. national energy policy designed around achieving energy independence should also consider environmental and economic trade-offs for biofuels to be an economically and environmentally sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.

Keywords: biomass; externality; mitigation; best management practices; renewable fuels; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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