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This report by GreenCape identifies business opportunities for value addition from industrial organic wastewater in the Western Cape, South Africa. It highlights the potential for recovering resources like biogas, starch, and whey from the agro-processing sector, while noting significant barriers related to wastewater volumes and capital requirements.

A collection of five South African case studies detailing value-addition methods for livestock value chain residues, focusing on biogas production, insect protein, and composting.

This briefing examines the 'cascading' principle—the idea that wood should be used for its most valuable purpose for as long as possible before being used for energy. While adopted in several EU policy documents, implementation is complicated by conflicting stakeholder interests and the difficulty of defining 'value' outside of market dynamics. The author warns that rigid legislative eligibility criteria can distort markets and suggests that a combination of cross-sectoral policy measures is more effective than strict adherence to the cascading model.

This executive summary describes a study by the Climate Policy Initiative and PUC-Rio on the economic and environmental impacts of sugarcane mill expansion in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The findings indicate that the arrival of these mills significantly restructured local municipal economies, increasing GDP, population, and tax revenues while shifting land use from pasture to sugarcane and reducing deforestation.

This research paper examines the concept of 'cascading' woody biomass, focusing on the principle that material use of wood should be prioritized over energy use, particularly within the European Union. It analyzes the terminology, policy implementation, and potential risks to international bioenergy markets, concluding that without harmonized rules, such policies may lead to regulatory loopholes and legislative complexity.

This systematic review finds a limited scientific basis for policy-making on bioenergy's contribution to sustainable development, noting that research is concentrated in a few countries and focused on agricultural biomass. While economic and technological impacts are often reported as positive, social and environmental impacts are frequently negative, though the lack of consistent methodology and baseline reporting across studies makes general attribution difficult.

This case study examines the potential for high pressure cogeneration (HPC) technology in Pakistan's sugar industry to address electricity shortfalls and reduce operational costs by efficiently processing bagasse.

The 2016 Waste Economy Market Intelligence Report by GreenCape analyzes the transition of South Africa's waste sector from a landfill-centric model toward a more sustainable, resource-efficient economy. It highlights significant opportunities for recycling and alternative waste treatment, particularly in the Western Cape, while detailing the regulatory shifts and financial incentives available to greentech investors.

This fact sheet from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) describes 'Smart-Sourced Fuel Products,' which are eco-friendly heating fuels created from under-utilized and waste plant materials in Manitoba, Canada. The document outlines the environmental and economic benefits of these biomass products, compares cattail-based fuels to conventional wood, and estimates the available biomass supply in the region to support a bioenergy industry.

This fact sheet from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) describes 'smart-sourced fuels' (combustibles ingénieux) in Manitoba, Canada. These eco-friendly fuels are produced from underutilized local materials and waste, such as agricultural residues and wetland plants, to provide a sustainable heating alternative for residential, agricultural, industrial, and commercial use.

This report by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines the Makeni bioenergy project in Sierra Leone, developed by Addax Bioenergy Sierra Leone (ABSL). It analyzes the project's impact on rural transformation, focusing on how a large-scale agro-industrial investment affects livelihoods, infrastructure, and socio-economic conditions in a region characterized by high poverty and limited government capacity.

This policy brief by the Stockholm Environment Institute evaluates the Makeni Project in Sierra Leone, a €400 million agro-industrial investment by Addax Bioenergy Sierra Leone (ABSL). The project focuses on sugarcane production for ethanol export and electricity generation. While the investment has provided significant infrastructure, jobs, and agricultural training, the brief highlights risks regarding land access, local skill gaps, and a lack of government oversight that limits the project's potential for comprehensive rural transformation.

This research paper argues that using land for bioenergy creates intense competition with food, feed, and carbon storage, potentially widening the global crop calorie gap. The authors contend that most bioenergy is land-inefficient compared to solar energy and that current greenhouse gas accounting often 'double counts' biomass, erroneously suggesting that bioenergy is carbon-free. The paper recommends phasing out bioenergy from dedicated land use and prioritizing biomass derived from true wastes.

This discussion brief describes a collaborative project led by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) applying a water-energy-food nexus toolkit to the Lake Tana and Beles River basins in the Upper Blue Nile region of Ethiopia. The project uses integrated modelling to help policy-makers manage trade-offs between national development goals—such as increasing hydropower production fivefold by 2015 and boosting agricultural production by over 8%—and the sustainable management of natural resources.

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) evaluates the commercial-scale harvesting of cattail (Typha spp.) biomass in Manitoba, Canada, as a method for nutrient capture and the production of bioenergy and biocarbon. The project demonstrates that harvesting cattails from wetlands and water retention sites removes phosphorus and nitrogen from the watershed, reducing nutrient loading into Lake Winnipeg while providing a sustainable feedstock for solid fuels and soil amendments.

The 'Bioenergy technology roadmap for Colombia' (2014) provides a strategic vision and quantitative analysis for deploying sustainable biofuel and biomass technologies in Colombia through 2030. The report evaluates two primary visions: one focusing on new technologies (biomethane and biomass-based power/CHP) and another combining these with the expansion of first-generation liquid biofuels. Using an Energy System Model (ESM) and a Land Use and Trade Model (LUTM), the report quantifies impacts on energy demand, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and land requirements, concluding that power generation and CHP applications are the most effective for emission reductions.

This policy brief examines the intersection of bioenergy market development and climate change adaptation in the Nordic region, specifically focusing on Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. It analyzes how globalization and climate-driven shifts in productivity and logistics affect the supply chains of bioethanol, biodiesel, wood pellets, and wood chips.

This 2014 policy report by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines the water-energy nexus, specifically focusing on the sustainability of hydropower and bioenergy. It analyzes the environmental and social trade-offs of these energy sources, provides a detailed case study of Sweden's hydropower experience, and offers strategic recommendations for development assistance organizations supporting private sector bioenergy projects in developing countries.

This research paper evaluates the sustainable development benefits of 77 Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) bioenergy projects across India, Brazil, and sub-Saharan Africa, finding that projects utilizing agricultural farm residues claim the most benefits, while those using industrial forest residues claim the fewest.

This statement from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute argues that U.S. forests are increasingly transitioning from carbon sinks to carbon emitters due to climate change, droughts, and wildfires. It highlights a critical funding gap for hazardous fuel reduction and ecosystem restoration, suggesting that expanding markets for wood products and bioenergy could provide a sustainable financial model for forest management.