Stakeholder perceptions of forest-derived bioenergy in Maine, USA

DEevelopment and implementation of commercial scale woody biomass conversion technology faces many hurdles in an increasing complex energy regime. The state of Maine, USA is an area where forest-derived bioenergy development is proposed. In order to more fully understand the socio-economic context of the forestry there, interviews with forest landowners and land managers are conducted. Understanding their perspectives on bioenergy, forest management, and sustainability can help to more fully illuminate the opportunities and challenges for further bioenergy development. Findings from the interviews indicate a complex set of factors that shape producer perceptions of bioenergy, and that biomass energy can be successfully integrated into forest management as a low-grade wood market, with specific opportunities arising amidst the decline of the paper industry.