biomass

Remarkable expected increase in biomass-for-energy needs forethought

Over the years to come, biomass will grow within the biopower, biofuels, and bioproduct sectors. However, for this growth to take place, Taiyou Research says “parallel and positive development in several areas” is needed and that there will be plenty of challenges to overcome.

The market value of electricity generated from biomass in the United States alone was over $45 billion in 2011. About 70% of all biomass in the world is used in the residential sector, while 14% is used in industry and 11% is transformed into electricity, heat, or another energy carrier such as liquid fuel or biogas.

However, under the present market conditions, the majority of available renewable power resources including biomass power are yet to become cost competitive compared to non-renewable resources including coal and natural gas. Going forward, benefits from national level programs, energy efficiency incentives, and financial incentives targeting the expansion of the renewables market will create demand for additional biomass power capacity globally between 2012 and 2035.

A new market report "Global Biomass Industry" developed by Taiyou Research covers an in-depth analytical discussion of the total world biomass industry, offers an insight into the market processes, industry performance, and competitive landscape. Future potential developments, industry prospects and opportunities, drivers and challenges are reviewed at full spectrum.

“Biomass plants are highly capital intensive, making adoption of biomass technology for electricity generation rather expensive when compared to thermal power generation. Unlike coal, biomass products including wood pellets must be kept indoors to reduce moisture content. As biomass feedstock lacks durability, issues including storage and transportation add cost to biomass power generation, making biomass power generation expensive,” explain the authors of the new report.

“The markets of biomass for energy are developing rapidly and becoming more international. A remarkable increase in the use of biomass for energy needs parallel and positive development in several areas and there will be plenty of challenges to overcome,” says Taiyou Research. Currently, only a limited number of modern bioenergy technologies are viable at market prices, which include Brazilian sugar-based ethanol and wood based heating in Northern Europe, and industrial applications such as cogeneration technology based on residues from production processes, including those in sugar factories and timber mills.

As biomass power projects are largely very capital-intensive, this remains a significant challenge for a number of utilities in entering countries with abundant feedstock availability. Going forward, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) program and availability of carbon credits for renewable energy projects will drive the growth of the biomass power market.

In this industry scenario Taiyou Research analyses the global biomass industry, taking a look at the challenges facing the global power industry and why the world needs biomass power, especially with biomass power prices expected to fall

For additional information:

Global Biomass Industry report