nd they have a tendency to be withdrawn due to policy changes (8).
Market capacity is set to grow at 5 to 10 percent every year, which is on par with global growth predictions for the biofuel industry as a whole. To make this possible, advocacy groups are calling for multi-year incentives that support current research into alternative sources of ethanol, like trees and woody crops or switchgrass (9, 10). These sources are considered the biofuels of the future, since they require low input, grow fast, and are widely available crops (11).
Future developments will depend not only on the regulatory environment, but also on how fast biotechnology is developed and deployed. A promising path is the production of algal-based biofuels, which are seen as an attractive option due to their per-acre productivity levels and potential uses, which range from vehicle fuel to source of domestic electricity (12). Also promising is the field of cellulosic ethanol, seen as a highly cost-efficient biofuel with main uses in heating and as boiler fuel (13).
On the whole, the future of the biofuel industry in the United States will require the alignment between policy, private sector investments, and technological advances. This will also contribute to maintaining the US leading position as a global biofuel producer.
Sources & CitationsThis Energyboom article contains information and quotations from a variety of sources, including the following:
- (1) https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.php?page=biofuel_home
- (2) https://www.afdc.energy.gov/data/10331
- (3) https://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/#renewable
- (4) https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=27&t=4https://www.oecd.org/futures/Biofuels%20Infrastructure%20in%20the%20United%20States%20Current%20Status%20and%20Future%20Challenges.pdf
- (5) https://www.statista.com/statistics/271472/biodiesel-production-in-selected-countries/
- (6) https://maps.nrel.gov/biofuels-atlas/?aL=yilN7K%255Bv%255D%3Dt&bL=clight&cE=0&lR=0&mC=40.17887331434696%2C-91.58203125&zL=5
- (7) https://www.oecd.org/futures/Biofuels%20Infrastructure%20in%20the UnitedStates Current Statusand Future Challenges.pdf
- (8) https://www.epa.gov/environmental-economics/economics-biofuels
- (9) http://www.biodieselmagazine.com/articles/2516272/despite-challenges-2017-was-a-solid-year-for-us-biodiesel
- (10) http://biomassmagazine.com/articles/15141/biofuel-groups-advocate-for-tax-credit-extensions-at-hearing
- (11) https://phys.org/news/2017-03-switchgrass-future-biofuel.html
- (12) https://www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/algal-biofuels
- (13) https://www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/articles/largest-cellulosic-ethanol-plant-world-opens-october-30