Biomass as Sustainable Energy: The Potential and Economic Impacts on U.S. Agriculture
评估了到2030年利用草类生物质生产甲醇或乙醇的经济可行性及其对美国农业的影响，发现该产业可商业化且农业经济整体受益，但消费者和畜牧生产者因作物价格上涨而受损。
This paper addresses the economic feasibility and impacts on U.S. agriculture of establishing a biomass crops industry capable of producing 8 quads methanol or 9.4 quads ethanol by the year 2030 from grasses grown as biomass feedstocks. The results suggest that such an industry could become commercially viable and that the agricultural economy would benefit. Producers of traditional and biomass crops would benefit most. While consumers and livestock producers would be worse off as a result of higher crop prices, society would gain from reduced government payments to crop producers and from lower levels of air pollution.