ABSTRACT
In expanding and improving the use of bioenergy in developing countries, larger scale commercial and government-operated enterprises need to be considered. The bioenergy planner must take into account the use of residues from existing large commercial enterprises—such as sawmill wastes—and other cases where biomass energy could be a by-product of other operations for food, fiber, or other purposes. Existing and planned bioenergy operations on a commercial scale range from the large-scale exploitation of natural forests of fuelwood and charcoal to biofueled steel factories and large alcohol distilleries. One of the most striking examples of a large-scale bioenergy enterprise is the recent “dendrothermal” program in the Philippines. Even greater possibilities for the harvesting of larger bioenergy crops by commercial timber firms lie in the concept of combined extraction. Commercial production of biogas as a primary product has failed to catch on under present energy pricing regimes.
