Economic competitiveness of ethanol production from cellulosic feedstock in Tennessee

Financial analysis was used to select feasible feedstock for biofuel production. For each feedstock, net return, feedstock cost per Btu, feedstock cost per gallon of ethanol, breakeven price of feedstock and breakeven price of ethanol were calculated. The analysis focused feedstock for biofuel production over 25 year project period. Preliminary research shows that under current conversion rate, the annual equivalent net revenue from ethanol production from switchgrass and miscanthus was $363/acre and $752/acre respectively. Sensitivity analysis showed that the feedstock cost for gallon of ethanol from switchgrass and miscanthus ranges from $0.52-$0.78 and $0.44-$0.66 per gallon respectively. The estimated breakeven price of ethanol from switchgrass ranges from $1.53 to $1.79/gallon and for miscanthus $1.41-1.67/gallon.