• A new report from the U.S. Department of Energy analyzing U.S. renewable carbon resources found that the country could use about half of the total waste produced annually for bioenergy in a medium-term market development scenario. The report estimates that in such a scenario, about 217 million dry tons more per year could be used to create bioenergy out of a total 450 million dry tons of waste produced annually. Currently about 37 million dry tons are used to create bioenergy annually.

• The report notes that portions of the waste sector have already become commoditized, as with paper, paperboard and plastics, and thus have a more readily understandable value in the context of the broader biomass market. Waste products are also concentrated in population centers, making their transport to facilities that can process biomass more straightforward.

• But the report notes that commiditizing other wastes, like yard waste, could introduce a complicated pricing dynamic where demand for the material shifts it from something viewed as a liability by companies today into an asset to sell, thus increasing the price.

Source: Utility Dive