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Socio-Economic Opportunities from Miscanthus Cultivation in Marginal Land for Bioenergy

Author

Listed:
  • Calliope Panoutsou

    (Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London, 16-18 Prince’s Gardens, London SW7 1NE, UK)

  • David Chiaramonti

    (“Galileo Ferraris” Energy Department, Polytechnic of Turin, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, I-10129 Turin, Italy
    RE-CORD, Polytechnic of Turin, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy)

Abstract

Substantial areas of agricultural land in south European countries are becoming increasingly marginal and being abandoned due to arid climate with prolonged summers and low rainfall. Perennial, lignocellulosic crops, such as Miscanthus, offer an outlet that couples agriculture with energy, creates employment, and increases profits from feedstock production in rural areas. This research paper follows an Input Output methodology and uses an econometric model to investigate the impact of crop yielding performance and marginal land to jobs and profit from the cultivation and supply of Miscanthus in low quality, marginal land in Italy and Greece. Two value chain cases are analysed: small scale Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and Fast Pyrolysis Bio Oil (FPBO). The cultivation of Miscanthus in both reference value chains exhibits good employment prospects, with smaller scale value chains creating more labour-intensive logistics operations. The activities can also generate substantial financial profit especially with higher crop yields. Results show a pronounced relationship between profitability and crop yield for both reference value chains - cultivation and supply operations become more profitable with increasing yield. It is, therefore, important to achieve higher yields through good cropping practices, while maintaining high levels of environmental sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Calliope Panoutsou & David Chiaramonti, 2020. "Socio-Economic Opportunities from Miscanthus Cultivation in Marginal Land for Bioenergy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-22, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:11:p:2741-:d:364879
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    4. Fabio G. Santeramo & Monica Delsignore & Enrica Imbert & Mariarosaria Lombardi, 2023. "The Future of the EU Bioenergy Sector: Economic, Environmental, Social, and Legislative Challenges," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 17(1), pages 1-1–52, April.
    5. Sergey Zhironkin, 2022. "Advances in Sustainable Development: Technological and Economic Overview," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-5, September.
    6. Eugenia A. Petropoulou & Vasiliki Petousi, 2024. "Social Capital, Trust, and Cultivation of Bioenergy Crops: Evidence from Germany and Greece," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-18, February.

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