Feasibility Assessment of Biomass Harvesting Cooperative

The paper summarizes the harvesting and transportation costs of biomass in an individual producer’s framework versus a cooperative framework using a feasibility template developed in MS Excel. The cost is compared between individual producer having 1000 acres of land and a cooperative with five members each having 1000 acres of land. The estimated total cost per ton for harvesting biomass and transporting it to a warehouse 20 mile far is $25.53 for individual producer and $18.00 for cooperative. The mowing, raking and baling cost per ton is estimated to be $5.71, $3.94 and $11.16 respectively for individual producer and $4.97, $2.00 and $5.85 respectively for cooperative.