Bioenergy crops such as switchgrass are highlighted as a potential alternative source of farm income but there is no market for them at present. USDA economists say 25-29 million acres of cropland, equal to half the area planted to wheat annually, would be needed for a bioenergy crops that would be generate as much electricity as hydropower. That’s around 6 percent of U.S. production, if there was a federal bio-electricity policy.
Plantings would be largest in the northern Plains, 11.1 million acres, and Appalachia, 8.6 million acres, because of high yields compared to other crops. In the Corn Belt, switchgrass would be a comparatively small competitor to corn and soybeans, occupying less than 5 percent of cropland. Extensive planting of switchgrass would reduce soil erosion by 5 percent nationwide and there would be less nitrogen runoff due to lessened tillage.
For the study, USDA assumed three scenarios – a subsidy for generating bio-electricity, a mandate requiring utilities to generate bio-electricity and a cap-and-trade plan to limit emissions of carbon dioxide. The bio-electricity subsidy would have the smallest impact on electricity prices – it would lower them by 0.5 percent by 2030 – but also a marginal impact on greenhouse gas emissions. The cap-and-trade approach would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent but also increase electricity prices by 55 percent. The bio-electricity mandate would reduce emission by 10 percent, the study estimated.