Proceedings - Biomass South 2008

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Dr. Kelly Zering, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Department of Agriculture and Life Sciences, NC State University

Dr. Kelly Zering is Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at North Carolina State University. He received his Ph.D. (1984) in agricultural economics from the University of California, Davis. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Agricultural Economics from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. Since 2006, his work has increasingly focused on the economics of biomass and energy. He serves on the NC State University Energy Council, the Research Triangle Energy Consortium, and the Steering Committee for the Southeastern Agriculture and Forestry Energy Resources alliance. His current research interests include integrating energy production, environmental enhancement, and waste utilization into economic models of agriculture.

Animal Waste to Energy Economics

• Slide Presentation in PDF format (will open in new window)

Notes:

• Animal waste not largest source of biomass but may be least expensive
• Fibrowatt announces plans for 2 power plants in North Carolina
  • 55 Mw plant
  • 40 Mw plant costing $190 million, will need 500,000 tons of litter/year

Questions:

Is there a way to mix wood/animal waste?
Dr. Vetter: One way would be to have a gasifier coupled w/ digester (wood would need to be gasified as it does not digest well)

Thanks to Sarah Ashton, Rachel Cook, Lindsey Hannum, James Jeuck, Liwei Lin, James McCarter, Susan McIntyre, and Mark Megalos for providing notes and summaries for presentations.