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Carbon Emissions, Renewable Electricity, and Profits: Comparing Policies to Promote Anaerobic Digesters on Dairies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2016

Nigel Key  and
Stacy Sneeringer
Nigel Key
Affiliation:
Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Stacy Sneeringer
Affiliation:
Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
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Abstract

Anaerobic digesters can provide renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from manure management. Government policies that encourage digester adoption by livestock operations include construction cost-share grants, renewable electricity subsidies, and carbon pricing (offset) programs. However, the effectiveness and efficiency of these policies is not well understood. For the U.S. dairy sector, we compare predicted digester adoption rates, carbon emission reductions, renewable electricity generation and sales, and net returns and social benefits of several policies. We find that a carbon pricing policy provides the greatest net social benefit for a range of assumptions about the benefits of carbon reductions and renewable energy.

Keywords

anaerobic digestercarbon offsetsclimate changedairymethanerenewable electricitysubsidy
Type
Research Article
Information
Agricultural and Resource Economics Review , Volume 41 , Issue 2 , August 2012 , pp. 139 - 157
Copyright
Copyright © 2012 Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

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