Developing a budget to plant, harvest, and transport switchgrass

Scope and Method of Study. If there is any hope of moving away from fossil fuels, and towards renewable alternatives, a comprehensive economics analysis of the problem must be performed. This study is the first step in a larger economic analysis that must be performed. It evaluates the establishment cost for growing switchgrass in Oklahoma. Then it determines the least cost method of harvesting and transporting large quantities of switchgrass for a biorefinery by determining the cost of several different methods of harvesting and transporting switchgrass.;Findings and Conclusions. This study found that based on current prices and technology, that it is cost prohibitive to use switchgrass as a biofuel feedstock unless there is a major change in one or more of the variables in this study. However, it is likely that in the future the increases in price and advances in technology will make switchgrass a viable method for producing ethanol. Based on the findings in this study, more research needs to be done in the field of biofeedstock for the production of ethanol to further explore this topic.