INSTITUTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS TO BIOMASS DEVELOPMENT

This paper examines a number of institutional opportunities and constraints applicable to biomass as well as other renewable energy technologies. Technological progress that improves performance or increases system efficiencies can open doors to deployment; however, market success depends on overcoming the institutional challenges that these technologies will face. It can be far more difficult to put into place the necessary institutional mechanisms which will drive these commercialization efforts. The keys to the successful implementation of energy technologies and, in particular, biomass power technologies, are issues that can be categorized as: (1) regulatory; (2) financial; (3) infrastrucrural; and (4) perceptual.