FES Funded ProjectsOutputs
| Title |
Category |
Date |
Authors |
| Growing hybrid poplar in western Canada for use as a biofuel feedstock: A financial analysis of coppice and single-stem managementCellulosic biorefineries require a stable supply of low-cost feedstock. In this paper we conduct a financial analysis of hybrid poplar as a purpose grown biofuel feedstock. We analyzed growth rates and costs for producing hybrid poplar in the Peace River region of western Canada – an area previously identified as a preferred location for a large biorefinery. We estimated financial returns for two hybrid poplar management systems: (i) a single-stem system that involves the planting and harvesting of individual trees according to optimal economic rotations of 20–26 years, and (ii) a coppice (multi-stem) system that involves multiple harvests of new shoots that sprout from stumps following harvest every 3–4 years. Results suggest that the coppice system is financially inferior (with estimated costs of 202 $ Mg−1) to the single-stem system (with estimated costs of 125 $ Mg−1), largely due to the cost of establishing the high density coppice plantations. But even the single-stem production system does not appear to be financially feasible given the current environment of high land prices and low biomass prices. In contrast to estimated costs of growing poplar, current biomass prices for agriculture and forestry residues are approximately 50 $ Mg−1. However, even though purpose grown energy crops are more expensive than residues, they could be valuable in supplementing a biorefinery's feedstock supply during years when residue yields are low. If governments in Canada wish to encourage renewable energy from cellulosic feedstock, then current economic conditions suggest that subsidies aimed at biomass production are likely required.T01-P02 University of Alberta | Publication | 2018-04-16 | | | Establishing hybrid poplar plantations in western Canada for biofuel feedstock and carbon offsets: A forest-level financial analysisWe develop a forest-level model that considers hybrid poplar plantations on private and public land, and estimates how the plantations impact harvest levels and net present values. With this model we simulate three policy changes: 1) hybrid plantations on private lands, with annual allowable cuts calculated over combined private and public lands; 2) the first policy, but in addition hybrid poplar plantations are allowed on public lands; and 3) the second policy, with the addition of carbon offsets. We are interested in whether the increase in harvest levels created by the policies justify the establishment cost of the plantations, and if so, whether the increase in harvest might be enough to supply a biorefinery. Our results suggest that jointly managing public and private lands under sustained yield can increase harvest by 67% and increase the value of the operation by 35%. It therefore appears that hybrid poplar plantations could enable a large public land leaseholder to initiate an allowable cut effect and thereby increase harvest enough to supply two new biorefineries in addition to its existing pulp mill. However, under these scenarios the forest carbon inventory declines, and therefore accounting for carbon is not as profitable as the no-carbon scenario.T01-P02 University of Alberta | Activity | 2019-05-07 | | | Facility siting for a forest residue-based biorefinery considering variation of commercial timber harvestsIn this study, we evaluate variability in commercial timber harvest and how it may impact on the decisions on where to locate a forestry residue based biofuel facility. We consider collocating the biofuel facility either near a pulpmill or sawmill depending on the facility with a relatively stable supply of commercial timber. Our case study is the province of Alberta, Canada. We find that pulpwood harvests have lower variation than logs harvest therefore we select pulpmill locations as potential biofuel facility sites. We evaluate available residue and annual average delivery cost per odt based on 300 km haul radius from the potential locations, and rank the locations starting from the least cost per odt. We find that on average, there are about 2.2 million odt per year that can be generated from commercial harvesting of timber in Alberta. Hinton has the least cost per odt ($86.20) followed by Whitecourt ($86.30). Each has a capacity of 800,000 and one million odt per year respectively. Peace River and Boyle rank last with $91.57 and $93.23 per odt respectively even though Peace River has the highest odt (1.4 million) per year at this haul radius. We also observe that variability in commercial timber harvesting can influence the cost of delivering residue by up to 7%, but does not influence the ranking of the potential locations. Therefore, variability of available residue should be a key factor to consider when making decisions regarding biorefinery facility siting, making it important that inter year variability in available residue be factored in decision making. T01-P02 University of Alberta | Publication | 2020-01-02 | | | Facility siting for a forest residue-based biorefinery considering annual variability in commercial timber harvests in Alberta, CanadaDuring the week of November 23-27, 2020, Future Energy Systems hosted a Digital Research Showcase. During this event, we showcased our poster on Twitter and interacted with virtual guests from around the world, representing a variety of sectors of academia, industry, and government. T01-P02 University of Alberta | Activity | 2020-11-23 | | | A spatiotemporal analysis of forestry residues for west-central AlbertaUncertainty in forest residue feedstock -- be it geographical distribution, quality, or production costs -- plays a major role in investment decisions in a forest residue-based supply chain. Spatiotemporal and quality variations can greatly increase the risk to investment decisions, and therefore a sound understanding of feedstock variation is critical in the development of a sustainable biofuel economy. In this study, we use a geographical information system to analyze historical forest harvesting patterns in west-central Alberta, which enables us to estimate the quantities and locations of residues produced over time. We then aggregate these quantities to show how variability in forest harvesting could impact a biorefinery dependent on such residues for feedstock.T01-P02 University of Alberta | Publication | 2020-10-01 | | | Financial implications of carbon credits for forest plantations in Canada This presentation explained how the financial returns to growing trees are typically bad, especially so in northern climates (like Canada’s) with indigenous tree species where growth rates are low. But these northern forests play significant roles in carbon balances. The research question explored is: if carbon is valued, does it make much of a difference to financial returns to plantations?
T01-P02 University of Alberta | Activity | 2021-11-04 | | | Financial implications of carbon credits for forest plantations in Canada Financial returns to growing trees are typically bad, especially so in northern climates (like Canada’s) with indigenous species where growth rates are low. But these northern forests play significant roles in carbon balances, and may compete for land with agriculture. Therefore, both forests and agriculture could be influenced by emerging carbon policies. The research question we explore: if carbon is valued, does it make much of a difference to financial returns to plantations and land competition with agriculture?
T01-P02 University of Alberta | Activity | 2021-12-10 | |
|
|
