Appendix G. Biomass Energy Supply and Land-Use Assumptions

This appendix describes the cellulosic biomass energy supply curves for the United States that we used in our Reference and Blueprint cases. It also describes our assumptions for estimating the land-use impacts of using biomass to produce electricity and biofuels, other renewable energy technologies to produce electricity, and from avoided surface and mountaintop removal coal mining under the Blueprint. G.1. Biomass Energy Supply Assumptions The supply curves include the amount of biomass that is potentially available for energy use in the United States at different prices. We developed separate supply curves for each of the main biomass feedstocks in the model—energy crops (switchgrass), agricultural residues (corn stover and wheat straw), forestry residues, and urban wood waste and mill residues—and then added the data from those curves together to get a total biomass supply curve.1 The National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) includes a supply curve for each biomass feedstock for every year through 2030 and for 13 different regions of the United States. In developing our supply curves we worked extensively with Marie Walsh, a