2011•The Atrium (University of Guelph)Requires access
The economic feasibility of bioenergy production from Miscanthus for the Ontario greenhouse industry
Tasneem Virani
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Abstract
This thesis investigates the cost of producing miscanthus in Ontario as an energy crop for the Ontario greenhouse industry. To determine the breakeven price of growing miscanthus an enterprise budget was developed and applied to three different life cycle scenarios to determine the effect of stand life on the breakeven price. The base case breakeven price of producing miscanthus ranged from $74.74/t to $80.22/t. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the effect of assumptions (stand yield, rhizome cost, harvest method and discount rate) on the breakeven price. Price of energy from miscanthus ranged from $2.87/GJ to $8.63/GJ with an average price of $5.51/GJ. The Ontario greenhouse industry`s willingness to pay for bioenergy from miscanthus is based on the prices of fuels currently in use. Ontario farmer‘s willingness to produce miscanthus is based on its profitability compared to other crops and the time it takes to pay off the initial investment.