Environmental and Energy Study Institute 1 | P a g e
Cellulosic Biofuels
July 2008
Cellulosic biofuels are not as far off as often assumed. EESI’s investigation of this issue found some pilot scale
cellulosic biofuel production facilities already online and many more demonstration and commercial scale
biorefineries under construction or on the drawing board. In fact, 55 cellulosic biorefineries are complete, under
construction or in the planning stage in a total of 31 states across the country, adding up to an expected
nameplate capacity of 629.5 million gallons per year (MGY) and a potential expansion to 995 MGY. Most of the
demonstration and commercial scale facilities are scheduled to start operation in 2009 or 2010.
CELLULOSIC BIOREFINERIES BY SCALE & STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT
Commercial
Scale
Demonstration
Scale
Pilot
Scale
Completed
–
2
3
Under Construction
1
3
5
Planning Stage
21
14
6
Total
22
19
14
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) defines a commercial scale biorefinery as one that uses at least 700 tons of feedstock
per day to produce 10‐20 MGY of biofuel. Small scale (demonstration) facilities use approximately 70 tons of feedstock per
day, yielding at least 1 MGY.i Pilot scale facilities are generally smaller and are used to develop new methods and
technologies.
CELLULOSIC BIOREFINERIES BY STATE
Alabama (2)
Arkansas (1)
California (2)
Colorado (3)
Connecticut (1)
Florida (6)
Georgia (1)
Hawaii (1)
Indiana (2)
Iowa (1)
Kansas (1)
Kentucky (1)
Louisiana (2)
Maine (1)
Maryland (1)
Michigan (1)
Minnesota (1)
Missouri (1)
Montana (1)
Nebraska (1)
Nevada (1)
New York (3)
North Carolina (2)
Oregon (2)
Pennsylvania (3)
South Carolina (1)
South Dakota (1)
Tennessee (2)
Washington (1)
Wisconsin (3)
Wyoming (1)
Four facilities have