Exploring the determinants of emerging bioenergy market participation

Individual biomass producers will play a strong role in the emergence of robust and sustainable bioenergy markets. Research on what drives their participation, however, is substantial but fragmented. Despite a recognition of producer heterogeneity, there have also been few comparative analyses of drivers of bioenergy market participation across feedstock types, producer groups, and geographic regions. Through narrative review and network analysis, the following review of the bioenergy market participation literature generates both an increased appreciation of how bioenergy market participation is assessed in existing research and how social network analysis may be further employed as a tool for literature review. Across 41 studies selected for qualitative review and a subset of 22 selected for quantitative review, the analysis reaches two central conclusions. The first pertains to the findings of the literature itself, suggesting that a variety of non-production objectives, structural and social constraints, and market-related attributes influence bioenergy market participation decisions. A second conclusion is that the assessment of these factors varies significantly across the literature for both user group and feedstock type. Further examination of the individual variables within these segments of the literature, as well as of authorship patterns across them, suggests that this variation may rise from differences in the subject matter itself and not from differing perspectives of the researchers undertaking the work. Should disparities in the literature be reflective of actual socio-economic differences in their respective markets, policies or programs targeted to individual feedstock types or user groups may be more effective in encouraging participation than uniform national policy initiatives.