Biofuels is currently driving the interest in bioenergy sector. The recently issued Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC) confirms the 10% target, set by the EC, for energy from renewable sources in transport. The European Union is the largest producer of biodiesel in the world and biodiesel is also the most important biofuel used in the EU. The aim of this paper is to investigate the biomass feedstock requirement, under different scenarios, with a focus on vegetable oils. The European production potential is compared with the amount of biomass required to meet the target on biofuels. Next generation biofuels and alternative feedstock for first generation pathways are considered as well as the share of biomass import. The scenario proposed allows to estimate the land required to meet the target at 2020 on biodiesel. Assuming different contribution of the next generation biofuels, from the 10% to the 30% is possible to estimate the contribution of first generation biodiesel. The results showed that, considering the total European arable land, this production will utilise 9-13%. [Received: 8 July 2001; Accepted: 12 September 2011]

Keywords: vegetable oil market, next generation biofuels, renewable energy, EU targets, European Union, transport biofuels, biodiesel, biomass feedstock, vegetable oils