The United Nations estimate of global biomass energy consumption was about 6.7% of the world’s energy consumption in 1990 (Table 1.2). Biomass energy continues to be a major source of energy and fuels in the developing regions of the world—Africa, South America, and Asia. The markets for biomass energy and biofuels as replacements and substitutes for fossil fuels are obviously large, but have only been developed to a limited extent.

There are still major barriers that must be overcome to permit biomass energy to have a truly large role in displacing fossil fuels. Among these are developing large-scale biomass energy plantations that can supply sus­tainable amounts of low-cost feedstocks; developing integrated biomass production-conversion systems that are capable of producing quad blocks of energy at competitive prices; developing nationwide biomass energy distribu­tion systems that simplify consumer access and ease of use; and increasing the availability of capital for financing biomass projects in the private sector. Niche markets for biomass energy will continue to expand, and as fossil fuels either are phased out because of environmental issues or become less available and uneconomical because of depletion, biomass energy is expected to acquire an increasingly larger share of the global energy market.