Project Summary
Biofuel as a low carbon fuel has not emerged as expected in California or the United States. Costs of producing advanced biofuels have not decreased as expected by policymakers and analysts. Still, biofuels are viewed as filling a more direct and outsized role in the decarbonization of transportation for all vehicle sizes in the short run, and for freight/heavy duty sectors, including aviation, in the long run. Thus, information about unexpected cost dynamics and slower industry emergence is of vital interest to policymakers and others seeking to understand the costs and potential for success. This white paper will synthesize findings from research on biofuels and biogas, including industry development, advanced fuel use, emerging information on relative costs of fuel pathways, and, for biogas, California sources, costs, and associated infrastructure. UC Davis’s STEPS program has conducted extensive research on biofuels over the past 4 years. This paper will summarize this work, and other research, in order to answer the following questions:
What is the status of advanced biofuels use in California (advanced includes biogas, cellulosic- and waste stream-based feedstocks to liquid fuels, using a range of technologies)?
What is the production potential in the near term and to at least 2030?
What do we know about potential costs and how they compare to other transportation energy options such as electricity?
What can we say about competition for biomass across transportation modes and competing sectors?
What do we know about the likely greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts of using these resources?
