Assessing the woody biomass supply chain in the Pacific Northwest and Great Lakes regions: Investigating policy as drivers of change

Abstract

With the ever-increasing need for clean and accessible energy sources, woody biomass has long been entertained as a potential prospect. As energy markets and business operations are influenced by political decisions, it is essential to know the relationship between policy impacts on business innovation and investment decisions. This study looks at significant changes woody biomass business owners have implemented over the course of their operations, and how state and federal policies have affected those changes. A survey of 175 woody biomass business owners in the upper Midwest Lake States and Pacific Northwest was conducted in 2014 to gain insight into the bioenergy investment decisions of logging and transport businesses, utility companies, pellet and densified fuel producers, and institutional heat users. Failing to understand policy influence on business innovation risks investment in ineffective strategies and business uncertainty. The results of this study will help arm policy makers and energy professionals with knowledge about how current renewable energy policies are influencing business investment decisions along the wood-energy supply chain in hopes of more effective policy planning and implementation.