Barriers for Successful Biofuel Industry

The 2005 Environmental Protection Act (EPAct) was enacted to strengthen the biofuel industry. However, 52% of advanced biofuel projects have ended by 2015. While there were plenty of research on the biofuel industry, there are no lists of internal and external barriers that can explain why biofuel projects have failed.

Virginia Tech University researchers developed a list of barriers plaguing advanced biofuel projects by conducting a survey of biofuel stakeholders. The survey produced a list of 23 hypothesized internal and external barriers. Another survey was conducted to have industry stakeholders provide their perspective on these barriers. The perceptions of industry stakeholders were analyzed by dividing the sample into three different stakeholder groups: industry members, government representatives, and others, which included publishers, journalists, suppliers, and other related stakeholders.

The most significant barrier indicated by the survey was technology issues, an internal barrier. On the other hand, Funding and Renewable Fuel Standards were perceived as external barriers by the three groups.Identification of these barriers will be vital as stakeholders, producers, and consumers can formulate solutions to these barriers.