The biomass wastes from the palm oil industry offer great potential for large-scale power generation in Malaysia. It has been estimated that 85.5% of available biomass in the country comes from oil palm agriculture. The introduction of the FiT (Feed-in Tariff) regime in 2011, which superseded the under-performing SREP (Small Renewable Energy Power) scheme, is expected to catalyse and accelerate the development of the renewable energy industry, including biomass technology. Despite a major overhaul of the market structure under the new scheme, the sustainability of the grid-connected oil palm biomass renewable energy industry downstream components remains questionable. Hence, this paper aims to investigate and analyse the market response to six sustainability-related topics. The research methods include electronic and conventional postal modes to disseminate questionnaires to all of the palm oil producers. The returned questionnaires were then analysed with a statistical tool and inferences were drawn to identify the gaps in the existing policy system. The survey identified several key factors for the government's consideration. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.