Anaerobic Digester Production and Cost Functions

Cowley, Cortney; Brorsen, B. Wade

doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2018.06.013

Cited by 28 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Manure management infrastructure can represent a significant investment, and costs can differ greatly based on MMS, region, and other production factors [ 15 , 35 ]. For example, data from dairy farms in Iowa suggest that the net cost to store and handle manure per cow ranges from $95.39 for two-stage sand systems to $161.56 for mattress/waterbed systems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Manure management strategies are interconnected with complexity across U.S. dairy farms

et al. 2022

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Among one of the key challenges in dairy production is the management of manure in a way that is beneficial for agricultural production, with minimal environmental and public health impacts. Manure management systems (MMS)—the entire system of handling, storage, and application of manure—are diverse in countries with developed dairy industries such as the United States, enabled by a number of different technologies. The ways in which dairy farmers manage manure is driven by varying tradeoffs, including economic, social, and environmental; however, existing research has not examined the relationships between components of MMS. Here we use data from the National Animal Health Monitoring System’s Dairy 2014 study to explore the ways in which manure handling, storage, and application are related, using a series of logistic regression models and network associations. We found significant associations between how manure is handled, stored, and applied, especially driven by the consistency of manure. For solid manure, we found highly heterogeneous systems, where farmers may have a suite of alternative manure management strategies available to them, and substitution is viable. Conversely, farms using liquid manure systems have very few substitutes in their MMS, suggesting greater investment in certain infrastructures, which are not easily changed. Such findings have important implications for shifting farmers towards management practices with minimal environmental and public health impacts, demonstrating that not all farm systems are easily changed. We highlight these results in light of current policies, which may not fully capture the relationships across the MMS, and suggest that greater financing may be necessary to shift MMS on some farms. Furthermore, we suggest that different MMS have varying tradeoffs across environmental, social, and economic aspects, which demonstrates that MMS are highly individualized to a given farm’s goals and priorities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Manure management strategies are interconnected with complexity across U.S. dairy farms

et al. 2022

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“…Anaerobic digestion (AD) is considered one of the most appropriate technologies in manure and wastewater treatment due to the amounts of biogas produced and its economic relevance in addition to the possibility to solve the problems of manure waste environmental pollution and utilization at the same time. In the same trend, Blumenstein et al, (2016), Cowley and Brorsen (2018) and Scarlat et al, (2018) reported that anaerobic digestion (AD) is a cost effective and environmentally-friendly method that can treat and recover bioenergy from different types of organic wastes. AD of livestock wastes such as chicken and cow manures could bring significant environmental and economic benefits, including water and air pollution control, and renewable energy production.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Effect of Different Stirring Speeds and Digestion Mixtures on Biogas Production

Sharaby

–Hadidi

Hanafy

2021

Journal of Productivity and Development

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“…Motivated by Vermont's feed-in-tariff and incentive rate of $0.20/kWh (Wang et al, 2011), sensitivity analysis was conducted assuming excess energy sales to the grid priced at $0.05/kWh, $0.10/kWh, $.15/kWh, and $0.20/kWh. Further, as shown in Cowley and Brorsen (2018a), based on responses from producers grant support up to 75% of initial capital costs greatly increases NPV of projects. Thus, for this sensitivity analysis, grant support of 25%, 50%, and 75% of initial capital costs was included.…”

Section: Sensitivity Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Poo Power: Revisiting Biogas Generation Potential on Dairy Farms in Texas

Benavidez

Thayer

Anderson

2019

J. Agric. Appl. Econ.

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Biogas created from anaerobic digestion on dairy farms can be used to generate electricity, produce coproducts, and reduce reliance on off-farm inputs. We incorporate risk into simulation models representing dairy farms in Texas and demonstrate the profitability of new anaerobic digester installation. Based on this market, results indicate projects that have low investment costs, receive grant support for construction, utilize coproducts, or have some combination of these factors have higher net present value at the end of the study period; however, even with generous grant support and high electricity prices, projects with average investment costs remain unprofitable.

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Anaerobic Digester Production and Cost Functions

Cited by 28 publications

References 17 publications

Manure management strategies are interconnected with complexity across U.S. dairy farms

Manure management strategies are interconnected with complexity across U.S. dairy farms

Effect of Different Stirring Speeds and Digestion Mixtures on Biogas Production

Poo Power: Revisiting Biogas Generation Potential on Dairy Farms in Texas

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