Currently, methanol is produced in the U.S. for mostly nonfuel usage. China has denoted methanol a strategic transportation fuel.
 

Methanol can be made from a wide variety of feedstocks including agricultural waste, coal, natural gas.
 

Shifting to methanol as a major transportation fuel would require greatly upping production.
 

Additionally, electricity can be used to convert water into hydrogen, which is then reacted with carbon dioxide to form methanol.

Biomass can be converted to syn-gas by a process called partial oxidation, and later converted to methanol. Biomass is organic material, such as urban wood wastes, primary mill residues, forest residues, agricultural residues, and dedicated energy crops (e.g. sugar cane and sugar beets,) that can be made into fuel. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates 2.45 billion metric tons a year of biomass are available for U.S. fuel production. One ton can be converted to 186 gallons (721 liters) of methanol.