Energy Crop Plantations Research Articles

Modelling the impact of business risk on the competitiveness of purpose-grown biomass of annual and perennial crops

Perennial energy crops compete with conventional annual crops in land-use. The production price of biomass from perennial energy crops is thus derived on the basis of the opportunity cost principle. This means that in deciding whether to grow perennial energy crops, the farmer will demand a price for biomass that will at least provide him with the same economic effect over the lifetime of the plantation in the form of the present value of net cash flows over the lifetime of the energy crop plantation. The level of discounts used to discount the cash flows associated with (annual) conventional crops and perennial energy crops plays an important role in modelling the biomass production price. The business risk associated with the two types of crops is different, with generally higher risk associated with perennial energy crops. This study focuses on developing a methodology to incorporate the risk associated with growing conventional and energy crops and to derive the discount rate for both crop groups. The methodology is demonstrated using the example of the Czech Republic and the price level in 2021. The analysis using Czech data led to a discount rate of 8.5 % for conventional crops and 11.5 % for perennial energy crops. The increase in the discount value for perennial energy crops leads to an increase in the expected biomass sales price by a producer. The sensitivity of the biomass production price level to an increase in the discount rate is lower for Miscanthus plantations compared to short rotation coppice.

Balancing bioenergy expansion and restoration: Global shifts in biodiversity intactness

Abstract To combat climate change, bioenergy is expected to play a more substantial role in the global energy mix, necessitating the expansion of energy crop plantations during the 21st century. Low‐quality or abandoned agricultural land is commonly proposed for growing energy crops. However, restoring such agricultural land back to natural vegetation is also key for global biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration. Thus, understanding the ecological implications of land‐use changes involving both energy crop plantations and restoration is required. Here, we use biodiversity data to calculate the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII) in different land uses, including energy crop plantations. We combine our BII models with maps of land use, crop yields and priority areas for restoration to estimate the effects on BII of changes in land use, from the current day, due to bioenergy expansion. We then compare the effects on BII of replacing either any land with energy crops, or only existing agricultural land that is a priority for restoration. Finally, we contrast the effects on BII of planting energy crops versus restoring natural vegetation in priority areas for restoration. Planting energy crops in places with relatively high amounts of natural vegetation and high BII would substantially reduce BII. Planting energy crops only on existing agricultural land that is a priority for restoration would result in less negative effects on BII than planting such crops in high BII areas, and small increases in BII in places with less remaining natural vegetation. However, restoring natural vegetation in priority areas, rather than expanding energy crops, would result in better outcomes for BII. Contrasting the spatial effects on BII of planting energy crops compared with restoring natural vegetation highlights places where energy crops could be the least detrimental to BII, such as Central Europe and the east coasts of the USA and China. Synthesis and applications. While restoration is the best strategy for biodiversity, planting energy crops on agricultural land rather than replacing natural vegetation could minimise losses in biodiversity intactness. However, achieving targets for bioenergy, climate change and restoration will require strategic land‐use planning to minimise ecological compromises.

The stimulating effects of international emission price fluctuations on bioenergy development of an energy-importing economy

An increase in emission price creates economic incentives because bioenergy producers could sell bioenergy and realize values attached to emission offset. Recently, the termination of the short-term goal of carbon neutrality in some European countries has skyrocketed, and demand for fossil energy has increased, as has the emission price. This situation brings challenges and opportunities to an energy-importing economy like Taiwan, which relies on fossil imports and is vulnerable to price distortions but also gets a chance to develop low-carbon energy domestically. This study proposes a mathematical programming model to investigate how such variations in emission price would affect bioenergy development from energy crops and how bioenergy producers with different production possibilities would behave in uncertain market conditions. Some insightful results are explored. First, bioenergy producers would change their production strategies from energy-focused technologies to emission-oriented ones because the gain from co-products would make emission offset more profitable. At a high emission price, biopower production declines from 11,492 GWh to about 3315 GWh. Still, more than 8.73 million tons of biochar is produced, and the total offset from bioenergy and biochar sequestration expands to 33.7 million tons of CO2. Second, the production pattern of energy crops varies substantially under market conditions. Energy crop plantation at low energy prices is 227,000–263,000 ha but expands to 638,000–798,000 ha when energy and emission prices increase. Third, reducing bioenergy production does not necessarily minimize social welfare because the gain from carbon sequestration may outweigh the loss from reduced bioenergy production at high emission prices. Potential policies that can be applied to adjust production strategies are also discussed in detail.

Characterization of Leucaena leucocephala (Petai Belalang) as an Energy Crop for Power Generation Application

Currently, empty fruit bunch (EFB) is the main biomass source to fuel biomass power plant and as co-firing fuel with coal at the existing coal-fired power plants in Malaysia. However, these power plants frequently face insufficient EFB supply, which may contribute to load losses. Energy crops a new source of biomass, are introduced to replace or substitute the shortage of biomass supply. Planting energy crops worldwide ensures a sufficient and cleaner fuel supply for power generation. Positive characteristics of the energy crop are including calorific value, carbon contents and density. Higher value of these parameters indicating the good quality of the energy crop. While, the negative characteristics of energy crop are including moisture content and ash content. Higher value of these two parameters indicating lower quality of energy crop. One of the studied energy crops was Leucaena leucocephala (Petai Belalang), which showed better quality than EFB, based on calorific value, moisture content, ash content and density. It is naturally grown, typically near rivers in Peninsular Malaysia. Furthermore, it can be easily planted and matures in about six months for harvesting.

Qualitative Analysis of Carbon Emissions and Offsetting Opportunities of Zalaegerszeg Automotive Proving Ground

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview about the efforts of the management board of the Automotive Proving Ground in Zalaegerszeg to decrease carbon effects, which is in a close relation with the project level sustainability opportunities of this special investment. Based on the research work we have done, solutions were proposed to achieve the vision of "net zero (or negative) emissions" of this project. In the investigations concerning the test track, system boundaries were defined such that all relevant facilities and processes operating were considered. In emissions calculations, we have employed the procedure outlined by the GHG Protocol for 3 scopes and the employed methodology relied heavily on the related standard. For the calculations, the definition and collection of input data types was the first step. Then the assessment has been conducted by taking into consideration the geometric shape of test platforms, anticipated vehicle loading of track elements, typical distance-speed diagrams, as well as the utilized vehicle types (passenger cars, trucks and buses). We calculated CO2-equivalent emissions from gasoline and diesel fuel consumptions (from the product of fuel demand and conversion factors), using "Tank-to-Wheels" and "Well-to-Wheels" approaches. Based on the emission calculations carbon offsetting opportunities were analyzed to assume the effect of CO2 emissions reduction and capture: forestation and green surface development; energy crop plantation and heat generation; establishment of a photovoltaic (PV) farm (electricity production). We have shown the main characteristics of the 3 main options and their advantages and disadvantages.

Grid-connected Electricity Generation Potential from Energy Crops: A Case Study of Marginal Land in Thailand

This paper provides an assessment of the geographical potential of grid-connected electricity generation from the planting of energy crops using GIS while also estimating the levelized costs of electricity (LCOE) under three biomass-prices scenarios. To avoid competition for land use between food and energy crops, marginal land or unsuitable areas (low soil fertility) were used as case study sites for planting energy crops (Napier grass). The total estimated potential based on the location of energy crops and electrical substations was 11,224 MW or 66,367 GWh/y, equivalent to approximately 26.5% of Thailand's total electricity demand in 2037. The LCOEs under the three scenarios ranged from 0.103 to 0.120 USD/kWh for a 9MW capacity power plant, which were lower than the feed-in tariff rate. The results of economic assessment under three scenarios showed positive NPV values but relatively long discounted payback periods. The project and equity IRR ranged from 11.94 to 14.04% and 24.40 to 30.89%, respectively. These findings can be used for land-use planning and energy crop promotion to increase the share of grid-power generation from biomass.

Policy implications of competition between conventional and energy crops

Energy crops grown on agricultural land compete with conventional crops in terms of access to soil. Failure to respect the price of biomass from energy crops and its competitiveness can lead to a significant overestimation of the potential of biomass. For the analysis of the competitiveness of energy crops, a methodology was created based on respecting specific climatic and soil parameters on individual land plots and their utilization both for conventional and energy crops. The lower limit of the biomass price from the producer's point of view is modelled on the assumption of achieving the same economic effect from conventional and energy crops over the lifetime of energy crop plantations. The methodology applied on the example of Czechia using GIS modelling shows that due to large variability in yields of both energy and conventional crops, there are large differences (up to 2.5 fold) in the profitability (and thus competitiveness of energy biomass) within territories and land zones. The realistic biomass potential is thus not only fundamentally reduced, but also geographically diverged. The modelling results also show the need for a differentiated approach to energy crop support in relation to locality conditions, yields and prices of conventional crops, including subsidies to conventional agriculture.

Energy crop as an environmentally sustainable reclamation option for post-mining sites: a life cycle assessment of cassava planting in Vietnam.

Using post-mining areas for planting energy crops has emerged as a promising and sustainable reclamation solution due to its potential contributions to environmental protection, land restoration, and especially energy security. However, to ensure the sustainability of this reclamation solution, its environmental performance needs to be thoroughly assessed case by case. Located in Ha Thuong Commune, Dai Tu District, Thai Nguyen Province in northern Vietnam, Nui Phao is the world's largest tungsten mine. To restore post-mining sites at Nui Phao, cassava planting for ethanol production was one of the proposed measures. To support the decision-making, this study employs life cycle assessment to thoroughly evaluate the environmental performance and potential environmental benefits/costs of cassava-based reclamation system in terms of resource consumption and green house gas (GHG) emission. The results show that cassava-based reclamation might bring significant environmental benefits in terms of fossil fuel saving and GHGs reduction (i.e., reduce 50% fossil fuel consumption and 36% GHGs emission); however, it does not bring any benefit in terms of water and land resource consumption. Moreover, the results define cassava cultivation as the "hot spot" of the system, where innovations to enhance the yield and reduce water and fertilizer consumption are required to improve the environmental performance of the cassava-based reclamation system.

Вплив енергетичних культур на якість екосистемних послуг чорнозему опідзоленого важкосуглинкового

The article presents the results of research on the impact of energy crops on the quality of such ecosystem services of Luvic Chernic Phaozem as providing, regulating and supporting. The observation was conducted during 2019-2020 in the SE "Experimental Farm "Grakivske", Novyi Korotych village in Kharkiv region of Ukraine. Energy perennial crops grown in the experiment: Miscanthus giganteus (plantings 2016 (I) and 2019 (II) years); Sida hermophrodita (2018); Silphium perfoliatum L. (2018). Control variables: determination of soil organic carbon content; pH level; number of microarthropods in the soil; plant stem length. An increase in organic carbon content was found in the upper soil layers beneath energy crop plants, especially in the root zone of Sylphium. Due to the root excretions of the crops a slight decrease in pH is also observed in all the variants compared to the control. A positive effect of the plants is also observed on the numbers of soil invertebrates – microarthropods, namely columbines and oribatids. The increase in their numbers indicates the formation of favorable conditions for these living creatures, in the root zone of all energy crops. For example, in May 2019 compared to the control (2706 ex. / m2) under four-year-old Miscanthus almost tripled (6126 ex. / m2), under annual Miscanthus – 4860 ex. / m2, under Sylphium – 5040 ex. / m2, and under Sida – 4320 ex. / m2. Positive changes in soil structure under the influence of Miscanthus giganteus cultivation, especially in the upper layer, were also noted. The coefficient of structure on the variants increased from 1.39 on the control, to 2.26 in layer 0-20 under Miscanthus. Measurements of stem height, showed that all of the selected crops were able to function normally despite reduced rainfall and increased temperatures in recent years. The plants are not depressed under drought conditions and only increase their biomass over time. Thus, the results indicate an overall improvement in the quality of soil ecosystem services in energy crop plantations. In particular, provisioning services – obtaining energy raw materials; regulating services – improving soil quality; and ecosystem services – depositing organic carbon, are improved.

Economic Impacts of Thailand’s Biofuel Subsidy Reallocation Using a Dynamic Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Model

For two decades, the Thai government has been promoting ethanol and biodiesel consumption through tax measures and price subsidies. Although this policy has substantially increased the consumption and production of biofuels, there is concern regarding its future fiscal burden. Due to fiscal constraints, the Thai government has planned to completely terminate the biofuel subsidy by 2022. This study aims at examining the economy-wide impacts of removing the biofuel subsidy and also conducting simulations of alternative scenarios, i.e., improving the yield of energy crops and reallocating the burden to expand capital investment in energy crop plantations. A recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model was used as the main quantitative method to conduct four simulation scenarios. This model was validated by comparing the simulation results with the actual 2015–2019 data and showed low values of root mean square error (RMSE). The simulation results indicate that solely terminating the price subsidy would lead to economy-wide contraction. Meanwhile, eliminating the price subsidy along with influencing crop yield improvement and expanding capital investment in energy crop plantations would lead to the lowest negative impacts. Therefore, the termination of the price subsidy should be simultaneously implemented with supply-side expansions.

The use of palm oil biodiesel blends in locomotives: An economic, social and environmental analysis

The biofuels identified as the most appropriate for use in existing internal combustion engines are bioethanol (for Otto engines) and biodiesel (for diesel engines). Supply of these fuels requires planting energy crops with high yield and photosynthetic efficiency in large tracts of land. The two most efficient crops are sugarcane (for bioethanol) and palm oil (for biodiesel), both of which have high energy densities and the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions if produced in sufficient quantities. This study seeks to show the economic, social and environmental advantages of palm cultivation in relation to others oilseeds. It also describes a pioneering project using palm oil biodiesel blend (B20: 20% biodiesel with fossil diesel) in railway locomotives used for ore transport. The B20 blend performed satisfactorily and promoted a significant change in the company’s fuel mix. It was found that there is a strong ecological appeal in the production of palm oil because of its low environmental impact, high energy balance density and high carbon sequestration by the trees. Besides, it was identified that bio-fuels can significantly replace liquid fossil fuels, the ethanol can be produced from cellulosic biomass, there are advantages of palm cultivation is relation to other oil seeds are demonstrated and the development of this segment in Brazil are guided by the National Biodiesel Production Plan (PNPB).

Energy crops in urban parks as a promising alternative to traditional lawns – Perceptions and a cost-benefit analysis

In this study, we investigated the possibility of replacing existing lawns located in urban parks with patches of energy crop plantations as a way to reduce maintenance costs. We selected six sites located on the edges of urban parks in Warsaw (Poland), characterized by low aesthetical value, high noise levels, and low vegetation diversity. For these sites, we evaluated replacing existing vegetation with selected energy plant species from a social and economic perspective. We conducted face-to-face interviews with park visitors to assess the public’s perception of the aesthetic value of the energy crops using a series of computerized visual simulations. Also, we analyzed the costs and benefits of energy crops cultivation over a 20-year cycle and compared them with the maintenance costs of the current management of lawns in parks. The results from the survey showed that after introducing energy crops in all the cases, the attractiveness of the parks’ interiors would increase compared to existing conditions. Replacing existing lawns would have a minor effect on vegetation diversity, and this would only concern species typical for turf lawns common in urban landscapes. We found that over 20 years, the production of biomass from 9 of the 13 species is related to lower costs than those related to maintaining existing lawns in Warsaw. Only for H. salicifolius, L. thuringiaca, S. pectinata, B. napus is the production of biomass non-profitable in comparison to maintaining existing vegetation. For all other species, we found losses in the production of biomass over 20 years. However, these losses are still lower than the costs of lawn maintenance, suggesting that planting ECs is more profitable than the existing green infrastructure.

The fate of nutrients and heavy metals in energy crop plantations amended with organic by-products

Abstract Organic by-products (OB) can provide nutrition to energy crops but there is a potential risk of pollution to soil, groundwater (GW) and surface water (SW). A mass-balance inventory for two energy crops spread with biosolids (BS) and distillery effluent (DE) was created in order to study the fate of nutrients. Biosolids and distillery effluent (DE) were spread on both Miscanthus x giganteus and short rotation coppice willow (SRCW). Applications were conducted at rates of 100%, 50% and 0% (control) of permissible P loads. Losses of nutrients (N,P) and heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Cr, Pb, Ni, and Zn) to groundwater and overland flow (OLF), and crop uptake were determined. Total inputs (from soil, OB amendment and atmospheric deposition ) and losses were calculated and compared. The greatest input was from the soil, the smallest input was atmospheric deposition. The largest output was crop off-take; the smallest was loss to OLF. Elemental uptake by Miscanthus was lower than that of willow but losses to groundwater and overland flow was similar for both crops. This study has shown that organic byproducts can be used to enhance the nutrition of energy crops without deleterious environmental consequences.

THE POSSIBILITIES OF MEETING ENERGY DEMANDS IN SYSTEM THERMAL POWER PLANTS BY USING LOCAL SOLID BIOMASS

What is of crucial importance in local conditions as concerns the heat power industry is the use of local biomass, especially waste biomass, as an energy raw material in the existing system of thermal power plants. The purpose of the present study is to assess the possibility of replacing hard coal as an energy raw material with solid biomass. Solid biomass is constituted by: surpluses of cereal straw and rape straw, as well as hay from unused meadows, from the upkeep of roadside trees and from energy crop plantations. The research was conducted on the example of thermal power plants associated in the “Together Warmer” Cluster. This cluster is formed by 10 thermal power plants in small towns in the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Province and the city of Biała Podlaska (Lubelskie Province). All of these are located in north-east Poland. Considering the high transport costs of biomass, a biomass technical potential was accepted within a radius of 30 km from the thermal power plant. The solid biomass potential for each of the ten thermal power plants demonstrates that most of the thermal power plants from the Cluster under examination are able to meet their energy needs with solid biomass from the nearest neighbourhood (replace hard coal). However, when taking a decision on replacing hard coal with local biomass, it is necessary to adequately handle logistics and replace boilers in thermal power plants with special boilers for the combustion of solid biomass.

An assessment of economic viability of jatropha plantation in North East India

PurposeThis paper aims to analyze the economic viability of jatropha plantation in North East India.Design/methodology/approachEconomic viability is measured through the net present value and the benefit–cost ratio (BCR) at four different production standards along with four different prices of jatropha seed.FindingsAt a very low price and small production, jatropha plantation is economically not feasible. However, when the price of seed increases from INR 5 to 8, BCRs become greater than 1, provided that the discount rate is less than equal to 8 per cent. The minimum threshold of BCR indicates that the threshold of 1.5 BCR at a production level of 1.5 tons/ha can be achieved with a combination of seed price of INR 10 per kg and a discount rate of 1 to 3 per cent. Thus, jatropha cultivation is economically viable but not highly profitable.Research limitations/implicationsPresent study analyzes the economic viability of jatropha plantation from purely financial point of view. Social cost and benefit of energy crop plantation is not included in the study. This suggests to adopt social cost–benefit analysis to evaluate the overall feasibility of plantation crops in future studies.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the academic literature of economic viability of energy plantation crops. Economic viability of jatropha plantation is shown in different cost and revenue conditions with statistical evidences.

Performance of Small-Scale Technology in Planting and Cutback Operations of Short-Rotation Willow Crops

Abstract. Modern bioenergy crops have potential to play a crucial role in the global energy mix, especially under policies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The management of short-rotation willow crops involves several operations that deliver biomass for different uses. In commercial-scale operations, high-performance, mostly automated equipment is frequently used; however, in small-scale operations, smallholder farmers adapt traditional agricultural equipment to fit their needs. This study evaluated the field performance of planting and cutback operations in small-scale willow crops using equipment that was characterized by a low level of technological integration. Following the implementation of both operations, the planting work rates ranged from 0.216 to 0.300 ha h-1, depending on the soil preparation and planting density. Delays significantly reduced the field performance, resulting in gross work rates of 0.149 to 0.230 ha h-1. By comparison, cutback operations had higher work rates of 2.31 and 2.35 ha h-1 for gross and net production, respectively. These rates dropped to approximately 1.77 and 2.00 ha h-1, respectively, due to time spent in headland turns and other delays. Possibilities to improve the field performance depend on good preparation of the soil prior to planting, which includes removal of agricultural residue. In the case of cutback operations, avoiding backward movement of the equipment when additional headland space is available and an improved field layout may shorten the time spent in headland turns. The results indicate that small-scale energy crop plantations can be sustainable in terms of efficiency when unspecialized technologies are used. Therefore, small-scale agriculture can make a positive contribution to climate change mitigation targets. Keywords: Bioenergy, Biomass, Cutting, Plantation, Mechanization, Short-rotation coppice, SRC.

Exploring the impacts of biofuel expansion on land use change and food security based on a land explicit CGE model: A case study of China

Biofuel plays an important role in the transition to low-carbon energy systems. However, the large-scale expansion of biofuels may cause drastic land use change (LUC) due to feedstock cultivation and further result in other sustainability impacts (e.g., food supply), which are the key concerns for policy makers when designing bioenergy policies. However, biophysical models omit the indirect LUC from interactions of economic agents, whereas economic models lack the depiction of heterogeneous land use types. Thus, through either technique, it has formidable challenges to simulate land conversions among alternative uses driven by socioeconomic activities, especially policy mandates. To bridge the gap between these models by simultaneously considering land heterogeneity and market mechanisms and to gain better insights into specific national/regional cases to supplement previous global biofuel and LUC analyses, in this study, we develop a national computable general equilibrium (CGE) model augmented with an explicit land allocation module and design a scenario approach to simulate different patterns of land use management. Food grains and dedicated energy crops are considered feedstock sources and marginal land is incorporated as a potential land supply. Using this model, the case study of China quantifies the direct and indirect LUC driven by the bioethanol (one of the main biofuels) expansion of the new nationwide E10 mandate (gasoline containing 10% ethanol) in 2020, as well as the further impacts on food security. The results show that a slight land reallocation occurs with decreases in the land supply for rice (−0.016%), other non-feedstock grains and crops, as well as forest and grassland (−0.023%). The land competition among existing croplands would be intense in the non-deforestation scenario. If marginal land is reclaimed for feedstock cultivation, the cropland competition could be softened. The results of sensitivity analysis indicate that the total LUC scale would be 4.0–5.9% with no corn stockpile serving as feedstock. Additionally, the bioethanol expansion would trigger higher food prices (around +0.1%). To alleviate the negative impacts on land resources and food security, planting energy crops on marginal land could increase non-grain feedstocks by 10% and save 0.217% of croplands; therefore, it may be one of the promising pathways for sustainable biofuel development in China. This study can lay a common foundation for further integrated impact assessments of biofuel expansion.

A sustainability framework for assessing studies about marginal lands for planting perennial energy crops

AbstractOne of the issues with large‐scale perennial energy crop production is increasing land use competition between ‘food and feed’ and ‘fuel’. A commonly suggested solution is to limit energy crop plantation to marginal lands. However, the concept and the methods used to assess marginal lands remain vague and inconsistent across bioenergy‐related studies. We propose a sustainability‐based framework to review and classify studies for marginal lands used for bioenergy crops. This framework innovatively puts the marginal land in a sustainability‐based framework, showing the interaction of biophysical, socioeconomic, qualitative, and quantitative assessments. We found that current studies lack integration of biophysical and socioeconomic considerations in the marginal land analysis. They also lack qualitative approaches to assess marginal land. We suggest that future work should emphasize integrating biophysical, socioeconomic, quantitative, and qualitative analysis for sustainable marginal land identification and use. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Economic assessment of landowners' willingness to supply energy crops on marginal lands in the northeastern of the United States

A major critique of large scale biomass production is the land competition between food and energy crops. A commonly suggested solution is to limit energy crop production to marginal lands. Physical marginality is often used when discussing marginal lands. However, as important is the socioeconomic marginality. This research fills this gap by evaluating willingness to supply bioenergy crops for landowners who have marginal lands. We conducted contingent valuation surveys at study sites with three model crops: switchgrass, miscanthus and willow. Random utility theory is applied to evaluate factors influencing decision maker's choice to plant energy crops. The results indicate that landowners who own marginal lands are more likely to plant energy crops and they require a lower willingness to accept price compared with landowners who do not have marginal lands. At the same time, we noticed that landowners are unfamiliar with these new crops. Economic concerns are the top reasons preventing them from planting energy crops.

Ethanol as a vehicle fuel in China: A review from the perspectives of raw material resource, vehicle, and infrastructure

Abstract Currently, car ownership in China accounts for 20% of the world's cars, and there is tremendous growth potential in China's motor vehicle market, along with the quick improvement of the urbanization level. These advances will gradually increase the energy and environmental pressures faced by China. A direct and effective method to address these issues is to develop alternative vehicle fuels. This paper elaborates on the necessity and feasibility of developing fuel ethanol in China by comparing fuel ethanol with five kinds of alternative fuels that have either been put into use or are in the demonstration stage. Additionally, we construct a triple-perspective (raw material resource-vehicle-infrastructure) analysis framework. Based on this framework, the review concludes that China should develop 1.5-generation bioethanol in accordance with its own conditions in view of raw material resources. Compared with gasoline, bioethanol has the advantages of having an antiknock ability, engine efficiency and torque output from the perspective of the vehicle, but it also has some performance disadvantages. For infrastructure, the policies regarding using marginal land for planting energy crops lack specific and definite goals. Therefore, the government should increase its investment and develop new varieties of 1.5-generation bioethanol with higher quality and yield; step up efforts to help consumers understand that ethanol is a safer and more friendly antiknock additive than methyl tertiary butyl ethers (MTBE), which should be limited in its additive amount; and assess the environmental and economic feasibility of marginal land used for energy crops.