Contribution of Anaerobic Digesters to Emissions Mitigation and Electricity Generation Under U.S. Climate Policy
Name
Zaks-2011-Contribution of Anaerobic Digesters to Emissions Mitigation.pdf
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2.91 MB
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Author(s)
Zaks, David P. M.
Winchester, Niven Stewart
Kucharik, Christopher J.
Barford, Carol C.
Paltsev, Sergey
Reilly, John M
Date Issued
July 2011
Journal
Environmental Science and Technology
Publisher
American Chemical Society
Citation
Zaks, David P. M. et al. “Contribution of Anaerobic Digesters to Emissions Mitigation and Electricity Generation Under U.S. Climate Policy.” Environmental Science & Technology 45.16 (2011): 6735–6742. Web. © 2011 American Chemical Society.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Livestock husbandry in the U.S. significantly contributes to many environmental problems, including the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas (GHG). Anaerobic digesters (ADs) break down organic wastes using bacteria that produce methane, which can be collected and combusted to generate electricity. ADs also reduce odors and pathogens that are common with manure storage and the digested manure can be used as a fertilizer. There are relatively few ADs in the U.S., mainly due to their high capital costs. We use the MIT Emissions Prediction and Policy Analysis (EPPA) model to test the effects of a representative U.S. climate stabilization policy on the adoption of ADs which sell electricity and generate methane mitigation credits. Under such policy, ADs become competitive at producing electricity in 2025, when they receive methane reduction credits and electricity from fossil fuels becomes more expensive. We find that ADs have the potential to generate 5.5% of U.S. electricity.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Global Change Science
MIT Energy Initiative
Sloan School of Management
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1021/es104227y
