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Mishandling of agricultural and forestry residues can lead to environmental and health threats. During the summer months, open burning of these materials in the ASEAN countries worsened the smog and haze crisis in the region. Converting this biomass into modern forms of energy such as electricity and heat can contribute to the reduction of hotspots under the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution and strengthen the energy security in the region. However, despite the seemingly abundance of the waste materials and favorable policy stimulus from national governments, the development of biomass-to-energy (BtE) plants in the region has not been that promising. For example, Chiang Rai which has the largest biomass potential in the North of Thailand has only one BtE power plant in Wiang Kean District with a capacity of merely 0.13 MW. This study aims at understanding the institutional factors influencing the adoption of BtE by contrasting two cases of very small BtE projects (less than 10 MW) in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The multi-case design employs and triangulates data from various sources including documentary study, field observations, and qualitative interviews to understand the implementation procedures of BtE projects, and resources and perceptions of stakeholders in Ban Jam Pong Moo 5, Wiang Kean and Ban Trikeaw Moo 8, Wiang Chai. The Wiang Kean project has been successfully built and operated since 2008. On the other hand, the project in Wiang Chai the proposal of which had been drawn up in 2010 with the planned capacity of 9.4 MW has struggled to gain public acceptance and not been materialized …