Competing demands for U.S. biomass resources and resulting impacts on regional feedstock availability could have a significant impact on the ability of the biofuels industry to transition to lower cost feedstocks, such as wood, agricultural residues, and energy crops, as well as on the ability of U.S. electric utilities and consumers to meet Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) and transition to lower carbon-footprint sources of electricity. Promulgation of regulations that place a cost on CO2 emissions from fossil fuels will also impact this situation as biomass to power applications become increasingly cost competitive. This increased competition for biomass feedstocks could create technical and economic risks for the Government, industry, and investors, and has the potential to impede commercialization of bio-energy in the U.S. at a meaningful scale.