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on environment friendly and socio-economically sustainable renewable energy sources. However, commercial production of bioenergy is constrained by biomass supply uncertainty and associated costs. This study presents an integrated approach to determining the optimal biofuel supply chain considering biomass yield uncertainty. A two-stage stochastic mixed integer linear programming is utilized to minimize the expected system cost while incorporating yield uncertainty in the strategic level decisions related to biomass production and biorefinery investment.

Author(s):
Sharma, B. P. , T. E. Yu , B. C. English , C. Boyer , J. A. Larson

Perennial grasses are touted as sustainable feedstocks for energy production. Such benefits, however, may be offset if excessive nitrogen (N) fertilization leads to economic and environmental issues. Furthermore, as yields respond to changes in climate, nutrient requirements will change, and thus guidance on minimal N inputs is necessary to ensure sustainable bioenergy production.

Organization:
DOE
Author(s):
Huaihai Chen , Zhongmin Dai , Henriette I. Jager , Stan D. Wullschleger , Jianming Xu , Christopher W. Schadt
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.

Sustainable production of algae will depend on understanding trade-offs at the energy-water nexus. Algal biofuels promise to improve the environmental sustainability profile of renewable energy along most dimensions. In this assessment of potential US freshwater production, we assumed sustainable production along the carbon dimension by simulating placement of open ponds away from high-carbon-stock lands (forest, grassland, and wetland) and near sources of waste CO 2 .

Organization:
DOE
Author(s):
Henriette I. Jager , Rebecca A. Efroymson , Latha M. Baskaran
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.

Practicing agriculture decreases downstream water quality when compared to non-agricultural lands. Agricultural watersheds that also grow perennial biofuel feedstocks can be designed to improve water quality compared to agricultural watersheds without perennials. The question then becomes which conservation practices should be employed and where in the landscape should they be situated to achieve water quality objectives when growing biofuel feedstocks.

Organization:
DOE
Author(s):
Jasmine A.F. Kreig , Herbert Ssegane , Indrajeet Chaubey , Maria C. Negri , Henriette I. Jager
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.

New domestic, renewable energy resources must be considered to increase energy security in the U.S. Ethanol production through second-generation (cellulosic) feedstocks will help the U.S. meet the legislative Renewable Fuel Standard, which mandates 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022. However, conversion of cropland to meet the cellulosic feedstock production goals may have unforeseen environmental consequences.

Author(s):
David E. Gorelick , Latha M. Baskaran , Henriëtte I. Jager

Producing renewable fuel from dedicated energy crops, such as switchgrass, has the potential to generate localized environmental benefits. This study uses high-resolution spatial data for west Tennessee to quantify the effects of producing switchgrass for cellulosic ethanol on the grey water footprint (GWF), or the amount of freshwater needed to dilute nitrate leachate to a safe level, relative to existing agricultural production.

Author(s):
Zhong, J. , T. E. Yu , C. D. Clark , B. C. English , J. A. Larson , C. L. Cheng

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), a native of the North American prairies, has been selected for bioenergy research. With a focus on biomass yield improvement, this study aim (i) to estimate the genetic variation in biomass yield and important agronomic traits in ‘Alamo’, (ii) to determine correlations between biomass yield and agronomic traits, and (iii) to compare efficiency of phenotypic selection from a sward plot and advanced cycle half-sibs (ACHS) on the basis of space-plant performance.

Author(s):
Dalid, C. , A. M. Saxton , F. L. Allen , V. R. Pantalone , S. Nayak , H. Bhandari

Despite of the key role that short rotation woody crops (SRWC) play in supporting bioenergy and the bioeconomy, questions arise about the sustainability of bioenergy. Is it net energy efficient? Is bioenergy carbon neutral? Do SRWC plantations adversely affect food security by competing for land with agriculture? How will SRWC affect biodiversity and provision of environmental services? Answers are elusive and definitive answers require considering specific technology applied at a specific location.

Author(s):
Stanturf J. , T. M. Young , J. H. Perdue

The biobased economy is playing an increasingly important role in the American economy.

Through innovations in renewable energies and the emergence of a new generation of biobased products, the sectors that drive the biobased economy are providing job creation and economic growth. To further understand and analyze trends in the biobased economy, this report compares 2011 and 2016 report data.

Organization:
USDA
Author(s):
Jay S. Golden , Robert Handfield , Janire Pascual-Gonzalez , Ben Agsten , Taylor Brennan , Lina Khan , Emily True

Advanced biomass feedstocks tend to provide more non-fuel ecosystem goods and services (ES) than 1st-generation alternatives. We explore the idea that payment for non-fuel ES could facilitate market penetration of advanced biofuels by closing the profitability gap. As a specific example, we discuss the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB), where 1st-generation bioenergy feedstocks (e.g., corn-grain) have been integrated into the agricultural landscape.

Organization:
DOE
Author(s):
Henriette I.Jager , Rebecca A. Efroymson
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.

Ecological disturbances are occurring with greater frequency and intensity than in the past. Under projected shifts in disturbance regimes and patterns of recovery, societal and environmental impacts are expected to be more extreme and to span larger spatial extents. Moreover, preexisting conditions will require a longer time to re‐establish, if they do so at all. The word “unprecedented” is appearing more often in news reporting on droughts, fires, hurricanes, tsunamis, ice storms, and insect outbreaks.

Organization:
DOE
Author(s):
Virginia H Dale , Henriette I Jager , Amy K Wolfe , Rebecca A Efroymson
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.

Policy makers are interested in estimates of the potential economic impacts of oil price shocks, particularly during periods of rapid and large increases that accompany severe supply shocks. Literature estimates of the economic impacts of oil price shocks, summarized by the oil price elasticity of GDP, span a very wide range due to both fundamental economic and methodological factors. This paper presents a quantitative meta-analysis of the oil price elasticity of GDP for net oil importing countries, with a focus on the United States (US).

Organization:
DOE
Author(s):
Gbadebo A.Oladosu , Paul N.Leiby , David C.Bowman , Rocio Uría-Martínez , Megan M.Johnson
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.

Bio-oil derived via fast pyrolysis is being developed as a renewable fuel option for petroleum distillates. The compatibility of neat bio-oil with 18 plastic types was evaluated using neat diesel fuel as the baseline.

Organization:
DOE
Author(s):
Michael D. Kass , Christopher J. Janke , Raynella M. Connatser , Samuel A. Lewis Sr. , James R. Keiser , Katherine Gaston
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.

Several crops have recently been identified as potential dedicated bioenergy feedstocks for the production of power, fuels, and bioproducts. Despite being identified as early as the 1980s, no systematic work has been undertaken to characterize the spatial distribution of their long‐term production potentials in the United states.

Organization:
USDA
Author(s):
Christopher Daly , Michael D. Halbleib , David B. Hannaway , Laurence M. Eaton
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.

Energy market conditions have shifted dramatically since the USA renewable fuel standards (RFS1 in 2005; RFS2 in 2007) were enacted. The USA has transitioned from an increasing dependence on oil imports to abundant domestic oil production. In addition, increases in the use of ethanol, the main biofuel currently produced in the USA, is now limited by the blend wall constraint. Given this, the current study evaluates alternative biofuel deployment scenarios in the USA, accounting for changes in market conditions.

Author(s):
Gbadebo Oladosu
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.

This analysis estimates the cost of selected oil and biomass supply shocks for producers and consumers in the light-duty vehicle fuel market under various supply chain configurations using a mathematical programing model, BioTrans. The supply chain configurations differ by whether they include selected flexibility levers: multi-feedstock biorefineries; advanced biomass logistics; and the ability to adjust ethanol content of low-ethanol fuel blends, from E10 to E15 or E05.

Author(s):
Rocío Uría-Martínez , Paul N. Leiby , Maxwell L. Brown
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.

We explore the role of biofuels in mitigating the negative impacts of oil supply shocks on fuel markets under a range of oil price trajectories and biofuel blending mandate levels. Using a partial equilibrium model of US biofuels production and petroleum fuels trade, we discuss the adjustments in light‐duty vehicle fuel mix, fuel prices, and renewable identification number (RIN) prices following each shock as well as the distribution of shock costs across market participants. Ethanol is used as both a complement (blend component in E10) and a substitute (in E15 and E85 blends) to gasoline.

Author(s):
Uría-Martínez, R. , Leiby, P. N. , Brown, M. L.
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.

The ongoing debate about costs and benefits of wood‐pellet based bioenergy production in the southeastern United States (SE USA) requires an understanding of the science and context influencing market decisions associated with its sustainability. Production of pellets has garnered much attention as US exports have grown from negligible amounts in the early 2000s to 4.6 million metric tonnes in 2015. Currently, 98% of these pellet exports are shipped to Europe to displace coal in power plants.

Organization:
DOE
Author(s):
Virginia H. Dale , Keith L. Kline , Esther S. Parish , Annette L. Cowie , Robert Emory , Robert W. Malmsheimer , Raphael Slade , Charles Tattersall (Tat) SMITH Jr
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.

Wood pellet exports from the Southeastern United States (SE US) to Europe have been increasing in response to European Union member state policies to displace coal with renewable biomass for electricity generation. An understanding of the interactions among SE US forest markets, forest management, and forest ecosystem services is required to quantify the effects of pellet production compared to what would be expected under a reference case or ‘counterfactual scenario’ without pellet production.

Organization:
DOE
Author(s):
Esther S. Parish , Virginia H. Dale , Keith L. Kline , Robert C. Abt
Funded from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office.

In order to understand the climate effects of a bioenergy system, a comparison between the bioenergy system and a reference system is required. The reference system describes the situation that occurs in the absence of the bioenergy system with respect to the use of land, energy, and materials. The importance of reference systems is discussed in the literature but guidance on choosing suitable reference systems for assessing climate effects of bioenergy is limited. The reference system should align with the purpose of the study.

Author(s):
Koponen K , Soimakallio S , Kline KL , Cowie A , Brandão M