22 Facts About Biomass energy

Biomass energy is plant-based material used as fuel to produce heat or electricity.

The IEA argued that the current rate of bioBiomass energy deployment is well below the levels required in future low carbon scenarios, and that accelerated deployment is urgently needed.

In 2014, IRENA projected a doubling of energy produced from biomass in 2030, with a small contribution from traditional bioenergy .

The IEA argues that traditional bioBiomass energy is not sustainable and in its Net Zero by 2050 scenario it is phased out already in 2030.

Biofuel from food crops harvested for Biomass energy is called "first-generation" or "traditional" biofuel, and has relatively low emission savings.

Biomass energy pyrolysis produces fuels such as bio-oil, charcoal, methane, and hydrogen.

Net carbon debt for the bioBiomass energy scenario is calculated when the net amount of carbon stored in the forest protection scenario's carbon pool is larger than the net amount of carbon stored in the bioBiomass energy scenario's carbon pools.

The EU's published greenhouse gas savings percentages for specific bioBiomass energy pathways used in the Renewable Energy Directive and other legal documents are based on life cycle assessments .

Where growth rates are relatively high and the investment response strong, net GHG benefits from increased use of trees for Biomass energy can be realized within a decade or two, depending on the fossil fuel being displaced and the timing of the investment response.

See chart on the right for an overview over expected emission reductions from different forest bioBiomass energy pathways, including stemwood, residues and new plantations, compared against Biomass energy generation from coal and natural gas in the alternative scenarios.

The bioBiomass energy scenario was compared against an alternative reference scenario where the residues either were left in the forests to decay naturally, or was incinerated at the roadside.

The bioBiomass energy scenarios had carbon parity times of 12 to 46 years when compared to different alternative scenarios where the forest was instead protected and the electricity produced by coal plants.

EU's Joint Research Centre has examined a number of bioBiomass energy emission estimates found in literature, and calculated greenhouse gas savings percentages for bioBiomass energy pathways in heat production, transportation fuel production and electricity production, based on those studies .

The increased humidity causes more of the incoming solar Biomass energy to be spent evaporating water rather than heating the ground, thereby creating a cooling effect.

Environmental impact caused by biomass or other renewable energy production depends to some extent on its land use requirements.

However, a shift to modern bioBiomass energy contribute to improved livelihoods and can reduce land degradation and impacts on ecosystem services.

Likewise, the IEA argue that traditional bioBiomass energy is inefficient and that the phasing out of this Biomass energy source both have large health benefits and large economic benefits.

Smokestack emissions per produced Biomass energy unit depend on moisture content in the fuel, chemical differences between fuels and conversion efficiencies.

When this is the case, more of the wood's inherent Biomass energy must be spent solely on evaporating moisture, compared to the drier coal, which means that the amount of CO2 emitted per unit produced heat will be higher.

When forest products are in demand and forests therefore are managed for timber production, the most realistic no-bioBiomass energy scenario is not forest protection but continued timber production without residues collection and utilization.

Likewise, IEA BioBiomass energy criticizes EASAC for ignoring the carbon absorption that is happening in the forest landscape, noting that there is no net loss of carbon if the annual harvest is smaller than the forest's annual growth.

Limited or no bioBiomass energy pathways leads to increased climate change or shifting bioBiomass energy's mitigation load to other sectors.