Economic Assessment of Miscanthus Cultivation for Energy Purposes in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The article is focused on the issues of economic evaluation of Miscanthus cultivation on agricultural land in the Czech Republic. The methodology of economic assessment is based on the calculation of minimum production cost - minimum price of heat in EUR/GJ of heat in biomass. The minimum production cost represents the threshold of economic efficiency of production for the investor and its determination utilizes an economic model capturing all processes related to the cultivation of biomass for energy purposes. Miscanthus vegetation is considered for the production of biomass for direct combustion (a so-called spring harvest after the winter). Input data used in the model come from the experimentally collected data from the research plots of Miscanthus and from the market valuation of the individual activities using 2010 prices. The minimum price of Miscanthus varies between 3-12 EUR/GJ (2010 prices) depending on the yields and the date of harvest.