Global bioenergy: problems and prospects

Author: Moriarty Patrick   Honnery Damon  

Publisher: Inderscience Publishers

ISSN: 0954-7118

Source: International Journal of Global Energy Issues, Vol.27, Iss.2, 2007-05, pp. : 231-249

Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.

Previous Menu Next

Abstract

This paper explores the future global potential for bioenergy. We use energy analysis, and more generally climate change effects, as our criteria for evaluation. Since widespread use of new bioenergy is probably decades away, our evaluation attempts to take into account likely future conditions. Previous research displays large variations in estimates of both energy ratio and technical potential. We find that some feedstocks for bioenergy are already attractive from both a monetary and climate change perspective. But for energy plantations, water availability, rather than land availability, will drastically limit the scope for energy crops, and thus for bioenergy overall.