Office of Energy Policy and New Uses (OEPNU)

The Office of Energy Policy and New Uses (OEPNU) assists the Secretary of Agriculture in developing and coordinating Departmental energy policy, programs, and strategies.

Agricultural and Rural Energy Economics Symposium Series

The last decade has brought many changes in the relationship of energy to agriculture and rural economies. Agriculture once only a user of energy developed into a substantial energy produced through corn and soybean sourcing of biofuels. Furthermore, since 2007 rural America came to the epicenter of shale gas extraction and wind energy integration in the electricity web of the United States. As the impacts of energy interconnections to agriculture and rural areas evolve, the Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, Office of the Chief Economist, USDA (OEPNU USDA) strives to keep a pulse on developments and provide a forum of discussion of the implications of such evolving inter-relationships.

OEPNU has partnered with the Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics (C-FARE) on a series of symposia that explore the nuances of the economics of the agricultural, energy and rural development nexus and highlight new research, best practices, and local and regional assessments. Each symposium highlights the work of experts across government, academia, and industry and identifies key forward thinking questions that guide future perspectives.

The compendium of proceedings of each symposium is assembled to summarize the state of the science as well as a way forward.

Pre-series Workshop (webinar): Shale Oil and Gas Development. Data and Recent Research on Local Consequences
Symposium 1: Powering Prosperity. Bioeconomy Policy to Stimulate Growth
Symposium 2: Energizing the U.S. Economy: Rural America at the Epicenter of America's Energy Future

View all of the videos related to OEPNU and C-FARE events on YouTube.

Sponsors
Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, Office of the Chief Economist, USDA (OEPNU USDA)
Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics (CFARE)

Additional Details
For more information, contact: Irene M.  Xiarchos

Latest Reports

U.S. Biodiesel/Renewable Diesel Market  This report is a graphical presentation of the U.S. biomass-based diesel market, including historical production, trade, and impact of Government policies.  Prepared by Earnest Carter, Office of Global Analysis, FAS/USDA. 

2015 Energy Balance for the Corn-Ethanol Industry, Paul W. Gallagher, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Iowa State University; Winnie C.  Yee, Chemical Engineer, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Crop Conversion Science and Engineering Research Unit; Harry S. Baumes, Ph.D., Director, USDA, Office of the Chief Economist, Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, February 2016

Literature Review of Estimated Market Effects of U.S. Corn Starch Ethanol, Prepared by the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, Division of Applied Social Sciences, University of Missouri, February 2016

U.S. Ethanol: An Examination of Policy, Production, Use, Distribution, and Market Interactions, Edited by James, Office of the Chief Economist, Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, USDA, Robert Johansson, Office of the Chief Economist, USDA, and Seth Meyer, World Agricultural Outlook Board, Office of the Chief Economist, USDA, October 2015

Assessment of the National Prospects for Electricity Generation from Biomass, Purdue University, State Utility Forecasting Group, David G. Nderitu, Paul V. Preckel, Douglas J. Gotham, Elizabeth A. Dobis, April 2014

Renewable Chemicals & Materials Opportunity Assessment, Prepared by Nexant for the Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, Office of the Chief Economist, U.S.Department of Agriculture, January 2014

A National Survey of Biobased Product Companies - DRAFT R. A. Cox, Director, Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS); S. Devlin, Director, Business Development Program, University of Missouri Extension; R. Basu
Economics Specialist, CIRAS, Iowa State University. Ames, Iowa, August, 2013

Results of a National Survey of Biobased Product Companies R. A. Cox, Director, Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS); S. Devlin, Director, Business Development Program, University of Missouri Extension; R. Basu
Economics Specialist, CIRAS, Iowa State University. Ames, Iowa, March 2013

Factors Affecting the Adoption of Wind- and Solar-Power Generating Systems on U.S. Farms: Experiences at the State Level
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released a report that evaluates factors affecting state-level adoption rates of solar- and wind- power generating systems in U.S agriculture. Irene M. Xiarchos, Natural Resource Economist and Policy Analyst, Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, Office of the Chief Economist, U.S. Department of Agriculture and William Lazarus, Professor and Extension Economist, Department of Applied
Economics, University of Minnesota

Biobased Automobile Parts Investigation
Developed for the USDA Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, Christine Andresen, Christina Demuth, Austin Lange, Paul Stoick, Rudy Pruszko, September 2012

Occupational and Workforce Characteristics of Green Jobs, A Task-Based Approach to Defiing Green Jobs, David Peters and liesl Eathington, Iowa State University, June 25, 2012