Biomass for heat and power: Opportunity and economics

This report shows that biomass for heat and power holds a very large untapped potential for Europe as a cost effective source of renewable energy and greenhouse gas emission reductions. However, this potential is not being realised today.

The report is the work of a consortium of organisations representing many of the relevant stakeholders in the biomass debate, including the European Climate Foundation, Sveaskog, Sodra, and Vattenfall. WWF was involved and extensively consulted in the development of the report, and endorses most of the main conclusions. The report provides a fact base on biomass as a fuel for heat and power production so that its advantages and disadvantages compared to alternative production technologies - principally fossil fuels - can be debated in an objective way.

Speaking at the launch of the report Jules Kortenhorst, CEO of the European Climate Foundation said: "Biomass is an important part of the solution in the shift to a low carbon economy in Europe. With the right regulatory structure, business leadership and proper regard for land-use change, biomass could realise its true growth potential. At present the growth rate is only a third of what is necessary to meet existing targets, but our report highlights what needs to be done to rectify this situation and to ensure that biomass by 2020 delivers as much energy to Europe as diesel does today."