The bioenergy grid
As energy costs rise, bioenergy -- renewable energy made from organic sources, such as biomass -- is turning into a viable alternative where the technology has advanced enough that biomass power plants are small enough to fit on a farm and can be built at relatively low costs. Creating a bioenergy grid with these small plants could benefit people in rural areas and provide relief to an aging U.S. power grid, according to University of Missouri (MU) research.
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Credit: University of Missouri |
"Transporting power through power lines to remote, rural areas is very inefficient and can be expensive for farmers and other rural citizens," said Tom Johnson, Frank Miller Professor of Agricultural and Applied Economics in the MU College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources, and professor in the MU Truman School of Public Affairs. "Farmers already have access to a large amount of biomass material left over each year after harvests. If they had access to small biomass power plants, they could become close to self-sustaining in terms of power."
With enough improvements to the grid, users could provide additional power to consumers across the country, helping to stabilize the national power grid.
Rural consumers who become bioenergy producers will see lower local transportation costs compared to regions that must import transportation fuels. Further, major consumers of processed energy, such as some manufacturers and firms with large air conditioning needs, will find rural areas more attractive because of their lower prices for energy.
However, none of these benefits will be realized unless policymakers work with people from rural areas to provide funding to grow the infrastructure, according to Johnson.
"This is unlikely to occur without clearly articulated goals coupled with strategic guidance from policy," Johnson said. "We need an integration of policy and programs among community leaders, rural entrepreneurs and economic developers or practitioners who act as conduits between entrepreneurs and policy. In order to grow this bioeconomy, the goals of these actors need to be aligned."
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