Impacts of a 32-billion-gallon bioenergy landscape on land and fossil fuel use in the US

Tara W. Hudiburg, WeiWei Wang, Madhu Khanna, Stephen P. Long, Puneet Dwivedi, William J. Parton, Melannie Hartman and Evan H. DeLucia ()
Additional contact information
Tara W. Hudiburg: Rangeland, and Fire Sciences, 875 Perimeter Drive, University of Idaho
WeiWei Wang: 1301 W. Gregory Drive, University of Illinois, Urbana
Madhu Khanna: 1301 W. Gregory Drive, University of Illinois, Urbana
Stephen P. Long: 505 South Goodwin Avenue, University of Illinois
Puneet Dwivedi: Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, 180 E Green Street, University of Georgia
William J. Parton: Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University
Melannie Hartman: Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University
Evan H. DeLucia: 505 South Goodwin Avenue, University of Illinois

Nature Energy, 2016, vol. 1, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Sustainable transportation biofuels may require considerable changes in land use to meet mandated targets. Understanding the possible impact of different policies on land use and greenhouse gas emissions has typically proceeded by exploring either ecosystem or economic modelling. Here we integrate such models to assess the potential for the US Renewable Fuel Standard to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector through the use of cellulosic biofuels. We find that 2022 US emissions are decreased by 7.0 ± 2.5% largely through gasoline displacement and soil carbon storage by perennial grasses. If the Renewable Fuel Standard is accompanied by a cellulosic biofuel tax credit, these emissions could be reduced by 12.3 ± 3.4%. Our integrated approach indicates that transitioning to cellulosic biofuels can meet a 32-billion-gallon Renewable Fuel Standard target with negligible effects on food crop production, while reducing fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions. However, emissions savings are lower than previous estimates that did not account for economic constraints.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/nenergy.2015.5

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