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The Potential Supply of Carbon Dioxide Offsets from the Anaerobic Digestion of Dairy Waste in the United States
Author(s) -
Gloy Brent A.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
applied economic perspectives and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.4
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 2040-5804
pISSN - 2040-5790
DOI - 10.1093/aepp/ppq029
Subject(s) - anaerobic digestion , carbon dioxide , manure , environmental science , carbon offset , methane , agriculture , renewable energy , agricultural economics , natural resource economics , greenhouse gas , business , waste management , economics , engineering , chemistry , agronomy , ecology , electrical engineering , organic chemistry , biology
Anaerobic digestion allows farmers to create renewable energy and significantly reduce manure methane emissions. Estimates of the aggregate supply curve for carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) equivalent offsets from the adoption of anaerobic digestion (AD) were developed based upon dairy farm data collected by the National Agricultural Statistics Service/Economic Research Service Agricultural Resource and Management Survey. The estimated supply curve demonstrates how the supply of CO 2 offsets from AD would be influenced by offset prices. A sensitivity analysis examines how changes in capital and operating costs, as well as energy prices, would influence the supply of offsets. Under a base set of assumptions, offset prices in excess of $15 per ton of CO 2 equivalent would be required to reduce methane emissions from manure storages by 50% from 2005 levels.