Click Green: Farm-based biomass plants boost the rural economy, study finds

Bio-energy is becoming an increasingly popular source of renewable energy as the technology has advanced enough to allow biomass power plants small enough to fit on a farm to be built at relatively low costs.

Now, the University of Missouri researchers have found that creating a bio-energy grid with these small plants could benefit people in rural areas as well as provide relief to an overworked national power grid.


"Transporting power through power lines to remote, rural areas is very inefficient and can be expensive for farmers and other rural citizens," said Tom Johnson, Professor of Agricultural and Applied Economics in the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.

"Farmers already have access to a large amount of biomass material left over each year after harvests. If they had access to small biomass power plants, they could become close to self-sustaining in terms of power.

"If the grid was improved enough, they could even provide addition power to other people around the country, helping the stabilise the national power grid. This could help save rural citizens money and be a boon for rural economies."

Johnson says that as citizens of rural areas become bio-energy producers, they will realise other advantages.

First, local transportation costs are lower compared to regions that must import transportation fuels, providing local businesses with an advantage over urban centre. Second, major consumers of processed energy, such as some manufacturers and firms with large air conditioning needs, will find rural areas more attractive because of their lower prices.

He does warn that if this bio-economy system is created, safeguards must be in place to protect  the renewable resources, such as biomass. He also says mechanisms must be in place to ensure an equitable distribution of the rewards from investing; otherwise, local citizens risk becoming impoverished by the destruction of renewable resources and potential environmental degradation.

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