Economic analysis of woody biomass supply chain in Maine

An economic biomass supply chain model for Maine was developed to estimate the delivered cost of biomass chips using the stumpage price paid to the landowner, the cost of harvesting and chipping the logging residues, and the cost of transporting the biomass chips to a biorefinery for biofuel production. Harvesting costs were estimated using Maine-specific productivity equations, harvesting assumptions, and hourly costs, but the resulting model is applicable to any region with woody biomass. Transportation costs were estimated using round trip distance to the potential biorefinery. The delivered cost of biomass was estimated for multiple scenarios, including different machine cost rates, variables impacting machine productivity, transport distance, and stand characteristics. When biomass was treated as a waste product (only chipping costs included), the estimated delivered biomass cost was $11/green tonne (GT) (with a sensitivity analysis range of $4 to $24/GT), less than half the current biomass chip price in Maine ($28/GT). When a portion of the harvesting cost was included in the delivered biomass cost, the estimated delivered biomass cost increased three-fold to $30/GT (with a range of $8-$82/GT). The results of this analysis will serve as a portion of an integrated sustainability assessment for a new biofuel pathway. This model can be easily adapted to other geographical regions with different site-specific inputs.