Joint Bioenergy Institute director says researchers are developing new impact models for biofuels: emissions, commodity prices in focus

In California, Dr. Chris Somerville, Director of the Joint Bioenergy Institute, said that the institution’s team of social scientists is attempting to develop a macroeconomic model for biofuels to predict the impact on feedstock prices of large-scale expansion of cellulosic ethanol production. The team is also working on local and regional models to determine the impact on land prices when biofuel plants are proposed. The emissions team is also investigating models for greenhouse gas emissions and nitrogen runoff.

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