In the U.S. West, the potential to develop biofuels from woody biomass is gaining significant momentum. Despite potential environmental and economic benefits, an obstacle to successful project implementation may be attributed to poor public perception and lack of community support. This project implementation barrier emphasizes the importance of biorefinery site selection. These decisions tend to be based on various economic and biogeophysical resource criteria and often overlook valuable social assets necessary for successful implementation of these highly technical projects.

This study ground-truths the first refinery decision support tool that incorporates both biogeophysical and social assets measures. Four community case studies of successful and unsuccessful fuel and high-tech refineries explore the influence of social assets on project outcomes. Through interviews with key stakeholders, the role of social, cultural, and human capital in successful adoption and implementation is analyzed and provides insights into the impact of social assets.