An Economic Breakeven Model of CellulosicFeedstock Production and Ethanol Conversion withImplied Carbon Pricing

Growing interest in sustainable energy and energy independence is evident by a simple Googlesearch on the phrase “Go Green,” yielding 162 million hits. With the growing emphasis onfinding ways to be environmentally responsible and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,interest has reemerged in biofuels, particularly ethanol, in the past twenty-five years. U.S.ethanol production has increased from 175 million gallons in 1980 to over 10 billion gallons atthe beginning of 2009 [RFA, 2010]. Part of this rapid growth has been driven by the variousincentives and mandates placed on biofuel industries, including the MTBE phase-out when noliability protection was provided, and other efforts to regulate mobile-source emissions into theenvironment. New incentives and mandates continue to emerge, encouraging expansion inindustry development.[...]