EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

IEA Bioenergy is an international collaborative agreement set up in 1978 by the International Energy Agency (IEA) to improve international co-operation and information exchange between national bioenergy RD&D programmes. The IEA Bioenergy Vision is “To realise the use of environmentally sound and cost-competitive bioenergy on a sustainable basis, to provide a substantial contribution to meeting future energy demands.” The IEA Bioenergy Mission is “To facilitate, co-ordinate and maintain bioenergy research, development and demonstration through international co-operation and information exchange, leading to the deployment and commercialization of environmentally sound, sustainable, efficient and cost-competitive bioenergy technologies.” The scope of this work includes the documentation of the current usage of ethanol and biodiesel in the transportation markets in Canada and the United States. The factors that impact on this market penetration are identified. These factors include; • Production costs of conventional fuels and biofuels. The production costs for the production of ethanol from both grains and lignocellulosics is considered. • Alternative fuels taxation