Burning fossil fuels for energy is warming the planet. Coal, oil, and gas are responsible for 98.6% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. That is why transitioning to renewable energies is the most important step in our strategy to alleviate the climate crisis.
Many people associate renewable energy with solar panels, wind turbines and hydroelectric dams, yet none of these are the world’s largest source of renewable energy. More than half of Europe’s renewable energy comes from bioenergy, sourced from sustainably managed forests and agriculture.
Phasing out fossil fuels requires many changes and presents major challenges.
Even when the sun is not shining, and the wind is not blowing, there is still a demand for energy. To successfully transition away from fossil fuels, renewable energy also needs to be efficiently stored and easily activated.
Energy from biomass is reliable and always available on demand.
This is why bioenergy is the leading source of renewable energy in the world, and is already playing a decisive role in combating climate change.
Sustainable bioenergy is stored solar power. And it is available to us whenever needed:
24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Using biomass as fuel provides a sustainable source of heating, complementing electricity demand and alleviating the pressure on the power grid.
This is particularly important during the winter when falling temperatures increase heating demand.
Relying on electricity for heat production has two large drawbacks. First, many weather-dependent electricity generation technologies produce less energy during winter when heating demand is highest. Second, this increased seasonal demand would require a massive expansion of the electricity grid which would be challenging and expensive to do quickly without compromising reliability.
Especially highly efficient CHP installations can provide an answer to these problems, because they can produce electricity in addition to heat.
Bioenergy is Europeʼs most important source of renewable energy. Not only is it Europeʼs largest source of renewable energy, producing more renewable energy than wind, solar and hydropower combined; but it also stabilises and secures the energy grid and increases Europeʼs energy autonomy, thereby decreasing dependence on imported fossil energy.
95.7% of the biomass used for bioenergy is sourced within the EU, with the rest coming from reliable partners from third countries, like in the U.S. and Canada.
In the bioenergy sector, not only is the biomass home-grown, the technology development and manufacturing are also done within the EU. Unlike many other technologies which rely on foreign manufacturing or production of fuel, bioenergy contributes to Europeʼs energy self-sufficiency. Almost 75% of the suppliers of bioenergy equipment come from the EU and in many sectors European companies are recognised as technology leaders.
Gross available energy represents the quantity of energy necessary to satisfy the energy needs of a country or a region. The ratio between net imports and gross available energy indicates the ability of a country or a region to meet all its energy needs. This ratio is called energy dependency. In other words, it shows the extent to which a country or a region is dependent on energy imports.
Energy costs are an important factor for the competitiveness of European companies.
In the wake of the start of the war in Ukraine, the costs of fossil fuels rose dramatically, leading to turbulence in European economies.
This experience highlighted that Europe is heavily dependent on energy imports. The decisive expansion of renewables is essential for increasing energy autonomy and stabilising prices. Renewables often have prices below those of fossil fuels and investing in renewables now helps Europeans benefit from affordable energy prices. Bioenergy costs nearly a third of the price of fossil gas and only half as expensive as oil.
Consequently, sustainable bioenergy reduces energy costs and increases the competitiveness of European companies.
Bioenergy demonstrates its strengths particularly when it comes to generating heat for industry or for space heating.
Plants are an efficient way of storing solar energy. Whether in solid, liquid or gaseous form, biomass can act as a battery to store the sunʼs energy so that, if needed, it can be used at any time. As a result, bioenergy is a very efficient and cost-effective form of energy in many areas. Biomass is also a very stable form of energy storage with minimal losses over longer time periods making it an ideal way to store energy that is superior to many other methods of energy storage.
The reliability of this storage is essential for industry. Industrial operations require large amounts of energy, often around the clock, regardless of weather conditions or the availability of weather-dependent energy sources. Bioenergy can provide the necessary energy security while still being sustainable and renewable.
Biomass is particularly valuable in heat generation. Bioheat efficiently provides heating without further increasing the burden on the electricity grid.
Modern biomass appliances are a cost-effective option for renewable heating. Biomass central heating systems such as log boilers or pellet heating systems are very efficient and convenient alternatives to gas or oil heating systems.
Biomass can also be used on a bigger scale for large buildings or district heating networks. These systems also have the option of using different feedstocks than residential systems and can use materials such as wood chips or agricultural residues.
It is also possible to design larger systems for cogeneration which produces both heat and electricity. Combined heat and power (CHP) plants are highly efficient systems for the simultaneous generation of electricity and heat. They enable a primary energy efficiency of over 80%.
In comparison: the average efficiency of coal-fired power plants is currently around 31%.
With biomass fuelled CHP plants, electricity production is not dependent upon weather conditions and can be used rain or shine, day or night. Furthermore, biomass can even be used in the most remote areas to provide a local solution to heating needs. In this way biomass can help to decentralise the energy system and reduce investment costs by allowing local resources to be used for the benefit of the community.
Source: Eurostat
Industrial decarbonisation poses several challenges. Some industries require medium (100-400°C) or higher (over 400°C) temperature processes which are challenging to supply in a cost-effective way with non-fossil sources. Another challenge is that some industrial processes require a carbon source as an input in order to function. With sustainable biomass, the use of fossil fuels in heavy industries, such as steel and cement, can be reduced.
Biomass can be effectively used to produce high quality industrial heat as well as being used in industrial production processes which require a carbon source. Renewable biomass can replace fossil sources as an input material for the production processes.
Sustainable biomass can potentially substitute conventional fossil fuels in the cement industry, which alone is responsible for 4% of global carbon emissions.
In the steel industry, biomass in the form of biochar can substitute coke as a reducing agent.
In the pulp and paper industry 60.5% of the primary energy consumption in 2021 came from biomass.
Bioenergy is not only reducing carbon emissions, it also provides efficient and cost-effective energy for industrial sectors where alternatives to fulfil heat demand are limited.
Bioenergy keeps Europeʼs energy-intensive industries competitive and is an important pillar in Europeʼs renewable energy supply.
With CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage), rather than being released into the air, carbon from flue gases can be captured, liquefied, and pumped into underground reservoirs where it will remain trapped for millennia. CCS does not only work with fossil fuels but can also be combined with bioenergy production, known as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage or BECCS. BECCS has the advantage of being able to go beyond reaching zero emissions.
Bioenergy is carbon neutral because biomass is part of a natural cycle that releases carbon either when it naturally decays or when it is used for bioenergy. More carbon is absorbed by the new plants, which results in negative emissions overall. This type of carbon removal plays an important role in offsetting the emissions in sectors where residual emissions are unavoidable such as aviation and steelmaking.
What is biochar?
Biochar is a stable form of carbon resulting from a thermochemical transformation of biomass which releases energy. Biochar cannot be attacked by microorganisms and can be used in water filtration and water management, as a soil additive to increase aeration and fertility, and even as an oganic alternative to fossil fuels in many industrial process.
What is BECCU – Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Utilisation?
Once captured, the biogenic carbon can be reused to substitute fossil carbon. The biogenic carbon can work as a base component for the production of chemicals, plastics, fuels, building materials.
The new Vilnius combined heat and power plant (CHP) will run up to 90% on biomass fuels/bioenergy (up to 20% organic waste and 80% solid biomass). By generating and using heat and power simultaneously, the plant achieves greater efficiency and can save up to 40% of primary energy sources.
With an electrical capacity of about 100 MW and thermal capacity of about 245 MW, the Vilnius plant will be able to produce about 50% of the cityʼs heat demand and enough electricity to supply 320 000 households.
The switch to bioenergy provides a climate-neutral energy source and replaces thousands of individual fossil-fuel-powered heating systems. This is a big step towards a sustainable energy system that can achieve Europeʼs net-zero climate goals in Vilnius.
This change is not just good for the planet, but also for consumers. With the new Vilnius CHP, the heating costs for residents in the capital will decrease by up to 20%.
Gross available energy represents the quantity of energy necessary to satisfy the energy needs of a country or a region. The ratio between net imports and gross available energy indicates the ability of a country or a region to meet all its energy needs. This ratio is called energy dependency. In other words, it shows the extent to which a country or a region is dependent on energy imports.
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