Interest in ethanol, biodiesel, jatropha, and biofuels wanes in 2009, but algae and advanced biofuels up: Google reports
In Florida, web search trend charts from Google show that interest in “ethanol”, “biodiesel”, “biofuels” and “jatropha” waned in 2009, but interest in “algae biofuels” and “advanced biofuels” spiked during the year, with “advanced biofuels” tying for the fastest-growing search term associated with “biofuels” during the past 12 months, with a growth rate of 120 percent for March 2010 compared to March 2009.
Overall results are:
Ethanol - down 70 percent from a high point realized in 2006, and showing a decline in 2009 despite a slight surge in the second half of the year.
Google report on "ethanol" as a search term
Biodiesel is down nearly 80 percent since a high realized in 2005, and interest in the search term declined throughout the year.
Google searches on "biodiesel" as a search term
Interest in “Algae biofuels” peaked in the summer of 2008, but after declining almost half by the summer of 2009, experienced a surge of interest in the “Summer of algae” that brought it nearly back to pre-global financial crisis highs.
Google search traffic on "algae biofuels"
Interest in “biofuels” peaked in the late spring of 2008 and dropped by around 70 percent by the end of 2009, but recovered with a spike in early 2010 around the time of the announcements of DOE’s Integrated Bioenergy grant recipients.
Google search traffic on "biofuels"
Jatropha peaked in the summer of 2008, after steady growth 2004-2008, and has declined about 60 percent from that high point, including a steady decline throughout 2009.
Google search traffic on "jatropha"
Advanced Biofuels peaked in 2010, after first appearing on the search radar in early 2007. The term “advanced biofuels” stated to achieve steady traction in 2008 and grew steadily throughout early 2009 before dipping significantly in the fall and being subject to a huge spike during the winter of 2009-10 that drove it to all time highs.
Google search traffic on "advanced biofuels"
“Food vs fuel” did not record enough interest to be trackable in Goole — surprisingly — but “food fuel” did track, and reached a peak in spring 2008 after first appearing in 2009. Interest in the term declined to just under half of its 2008 peak, by early 2010, but has been relatively stable since early 2009.
Google search traffic on "food fuel"
Ethanol remains the king of bioenergy search terms with 8.4 times as much interest in the term compared to biofuels, although the disparity has narrowed considerably since 2006, and is much more narrow in English language searches.
Google trends are searchable here.
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Filed Under: Featured • Producer News • Research
Jason Burroughs | Mar 8, 2010 | Reply
Thank you for posting it. Last year, I came up with a theory that B100 usage in the United States peaked in 2007. I used Google Trends data exactly as you’ve done to support my theory. From 2005-2007, we had celebrities getting involved (Willie Nelson, Darryl Hannah, Woody Harrelson, Neil Young, etc.) and the public on our side. But once the food vs fuel issue hit, the public started to favor electric cars as their “silver bullet” to save the world, and biofuels turned into a stepchild.
I think our best path forward is pushing to get a B5 mandate nationally, nail down OEM acceptance for B20, then go for a B20 mandate nationally. If we could displace 20% of 60BBGY, the industry would be a resounding success. The other 80% can come in the way of renewable diesel or other “drop-in” fuel replacements.
Carl Hage | Mar 8, 2010 | Reply
I’m not sure what the conclusion is. Are you implying there is less interest in Ethanol/Biodiesel, less research, less usage, etc. because the google searches are down?
It would make sense that people are searching for topics that are relatively new and those in the news. Ethanol & Biodiesel are old topics, and people presumably have already researched those topics. Algae and advanced drop in fuels is still up and coming.
I think it is misleading to draw conclusions about ethanol interest from search terms– it’s not the same as “flu symptoms”.