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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Assessing The Carbon Impacts Of Colby College’S Biomass Plant, Alice Hotopp Jan 2015

Assessing The Carbon Impacts Of Colby College’S Biomass Plant, Alice Hotopp

Honors Theses

Biomass energy plants are considered to be carbon neutral systems under some definitions. However, this concept of carbon neutrality needs to be rethought in order to understand the true carbon impact of biomass plants upon global climate change. A biomass plant’s wood source, the extent to which the biomass plant emits carbon dioxide, and the timescale over which the biomass plant emits carbon should all be taken into account. In this study, I consider the Colby College biomass plant’s role in carbon cycling. Colby’s Physical Plant Department provided me with information on how much carbon (tons of woodchips) is used …


Cost Effectiveness Of Renewable Energy Policy On Military Installations, Zachary L. Esakof Jan 2015

Cost Effectiveness Of Renewable Energy Policy On Military Installations, Zachary L. Esakof

Honors Theses

In 2007, the United States government issued the National Defense Authorization Act, and Section 2852 mandates that the Department of Defense (DoD) meets 25% of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2025. This paper investigates the production decisions that the DoD faces when increasing its share of renewable energy to meet this objective. A linear programming model is created to solve for the cost-effective renewable energy portfolio mix for each military base to meet its production target of renewable energy. The renewable sources utilized in each base’s energy portfolio include solar, wind, geothermal, and renewably-sourced energy from the grid, …