This briefing paper reviews evidence of the impacts of the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) on food prices, with a focus on corn and soy, and presents new analysis on the impact of the RFS on U.S. livestock farmers. Studies examining the relationship between food prices and biofuel demand conclude …
The industry created more than 500 000 new jobs globally in 2017, with the total number of people employed in renewables (including large hydropower) surpassing 10 million for the first time. Renewable Energy and Jobs, presents the status of employment, both by technology and in selected countries, over the past …
Spurred by innovation, increased competition, and policy support in a growing number of countries, renewable energy technologies have achieved massive technological advances and sharp cost reductions. Renewables have come to the forefront of the global energy transition, with nearly every country adopting a renewable energy target. Yet progress has been …
This paper first reviews the effects of biodiesel on emissions of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter in conventional vehicles. It compares the effects of using palm biodiesel and other biodiesel feedstocks, such as soy and rapeseed oils. The paper then reviews the effects of biodiesel on vehicle …
The Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2018 report, published by UN Environment, the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre, and Bloomberg New Energy Finance, finds that falling costs for solar electricity, and to some extent wind power, is continuing to drive deployment. Last year was the eighth in a row in …
The Government of Haryana has formulated Haryana Bio-energy Policy 2018 to promote generation of energy from the surplus biomass in the State. Biomass energy is replenishable over a cycle that may vary from months to years. The biomass produced in agriculture operations is an excellent source of energy and need …
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) produces comprehensive renewable energy statistics on a range of topics. This publication presents renewable power generation capacity statistics for the last decade (2008-2017) in trilingual tables. Renewable power generation capacity is measured as the maximum net generating capacity of power plants and other installations …
This briefing paper reviews evidence on the environmental risks of growing lignocellulosic energy crops for biofuel production. The sustainability of energy crops such as Miscanthus, switchgrass, and short rotation poplar is a growing concern as the European Union (EU) considers ambitious targets for advanced biofuels.
The introduction of the first generation of biofuels made from food crops has been controversial largely due to concerns over competition for land with food crops, thus raising global crop prices and generating induced land-use change (ILUC). For many food-based fuels, ILUC emissions could undermine the climate benefits of biofuels …
Rainforest Foundation Norway and Cerulogy launched a report, ‘Driving deforestation’, looking at the impact of expanding palm oil use due to biofuel policies around the world. The report goes directly into the heated debate in Europe and the rest of the world about the use of palm oil for biofuels. …
Small-holder farmers in Kenya have the capacity and desire to play a major role in the scale-up of biofuel production from agroforestry, according to a Penn State forest economist, who led a study in the East African country. Croton trees—which seem to grow everywhere in Kenya—and the oilseeds they produce …
Crop residues, including wheat straw and corn stover, are a feedstock for the production of cellulosic biofuel that could contribute to meeting advanced biofuel targets and decarbonization goals for the transport sector. However, there are concerns about potential negative environmental impacts of crop residue harvest for biofuel production. In particular, …
Restoration of degraded land can create vast bioenergy crop potential, without constraining food crops or other land use options. This presents an important opportunity for African countries to develop modern, sustainable bioenergy from rapidly growing wood crops at the same time as pursuing ambitious forest landscape restoration initiatives. This study …
Bioenergy is the main source of renewable energy today. IEA modelling also indicates that modern bioenergy is an essential component of the future low carbon global energy system if global climate change commitments are to be met, playing a particularly important role in helping to decarbonise sectors such as aviation, …
Most climate change mitigation scenarios that are consistent with the 1.5–2 °C target rely on a large-scale contribution from biomass, including advanced (second-generation) biofuels. However, land-based biofuel production has been associated with substantial land-use change emissions. Previous studies show a wide range of emission factors, often hiding the influence of …
Sub-Saharan Africa possesses considerable resources to produce sustainable liquid biofuels, based on biomass feedstocks that would neither conflict with food supplies nor add to carbon dioxide emissions. Fulfilling the region’s biofuel potential would depend on increased residue collection from food crops and forest products, as well as intensified cultivation of …
The bioenergy industry has successfully portrayed itself to the EU as a sustainable, renewable energy solution, leading to a vast expansion in the use of biofuels and other types of bioenergy. This in turn has resulted in the EU transport sector guzzling food crops from millions of hectares of land, …
An analysis of advanced biofuel policies and recommendations for improving the effectiveness of policy support for emerging low carbon fuel technologies. Low-carbon fuels produced from non-food feedstocks have the potential to deliver deep greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions in transport fuels, but their commercialization has been slow despite a decade of …
BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s bold plan to blend renewable fuels into its gasoline supply within three years will revolutionise its fledging biofuels industry, industry players said, likely spurring billions of dollars in investment in ethanol factories. On Wednesday, state media reported Beijing plans to roll out the use of a …
This European Environment Agency’s (EEA) Signals 2017 – Shaping the future of energy in Europe: Clean, smart and renewable, examines the state of play of Europe’s energy system and recent trends. European countries consume less energy compared with 10 years ago, mainly due to energy efficiency gains. Europe also relies …
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency used too strict of a test when it denied Sinclair Oil Corp's request for an exemption from the country's biofuel regulations, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Tuesday. The ruling could broaden the rules governing such exemptions and force the EPA to grant more of …
