The International Energy Outlook 2016 (IEO2016) report forecast a significant growth in worldwide energy demand over the 28-year period from 2012 to 2040. The total worldwide consumption of energy is expected to grow from 549 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) in 2012, to 629 quadrillion Btu in 2020, and to 815 quadrillion Btu in 2040—a 48% rise from 2012 to 2040 (EIA, 2016). This rapid increase in energy demand cannot be filled by traditional fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas, and coal because these conventional energy sources have been dwindling, and they have created adverse environmental conditions though pollution resulting from carbon emissions and natural habitat destruction during their extraction. For example, the United States (U.S.) alone consumes approximately 20.5 million barrels of petroleum fuels every day. The transportation sector accounts for 68% of that consumption (Statistica, 2017; U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2017). Increasing the use of these fuels will increase air pollution, intensify global warming, and cause other environmental problems including acid rain by emitting various contaminants such as CO2, CO, SOx, NOx, and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (Ma & Hanna, 1999; Tiwari et al., 2006; Kasteren & Nisworo, 2017; Escalera et al., 2008; You et al., 2007). Price fluctuation created further challenges for organizations and companies that are heavily dependent on fossil fuel. For example, the price of oil (adjusted for inflation) rose from $9.94 per barrel in 1931 to $53.18 as of April, 2017 (ChartsBin, 2017; Macrotrends, 2017). As such, world leaders have started recognizing the need for alternative energy sources and have enacted laws/regulations to support the development and expansion of alternative energy sources. Examples of alternative energy sources include nuclear, solar, hydro, wind, geothermal, and biomass. With the exception of nuclear, these alternative energy sources provide clean, nontoxic, and renewable energy that is environment-friendly, but many of these sources failed to completely replace fossil fuels and satisfy growing energy demands. A lack of clean energy use is attributed to the limited technology for extracting it and commercialization failures. For instance, biofuel has been regarded as a viable source of renewable energy, but it still requires various food sources such as soy beans, corn, coconuts, peanuts, cottonseeds, rapeseeds, and sunflowers which are essential for daily living and thus can be expensive with limited food supplies.