ABSTRACT

Bioenergy is a very widely used renewable energy (RE) in East Asia and globally, and it is one of the most complex and controversial. Bioenergy is the world's fourth largest renewable power generator, while the biofuels sub-sector is making important contributions to greening global transportation. East Asian governments actively promoted bioenergy development for some decades, yet it has only been since the early 2000s that a more strategic, comprehensive, and programmatic approach has been adopted. The bioenergy industry comprises a broad range of business actors, including power generation plant constructors and operators; bioenergy plant equipment manufacturers; biomass feedstock processors and suppliers; biofuel and biogas processors and distributors; and producers of specialist biomass harvesting, handling, and storage equipment. Biogas consumption in China is highly distributed across mainly rural areas. The chapter explains how various issues of conflict have marred Southeast Asia's troubled history of bioenergy development.