Biomass

Energy Mix

<2% of world 🌎
5% of US 🇺🇸

Solid Biomass Dominates Global Bioenergy Supply

Solid Biomass: 81%
Liquid Biofuels: 14%
Biogas: 5%

Uses of Bioenergy*

Heat: 71%
Transportation: 18%
Electricity: 9%
of total global bioenergy

*_{Excluding conversion losses}

Bioenergy Demand

Increase:
⬆ 23%
(2015-2020)

Electricity Generation

2% of world 🌎
1% of US 🇺🇸

Transportation Energy

4% of world 🌎
6% of US 🇺🇸

Heat Generation

8% of world 🌎
8% of US 🇺🇸

Use of Bioenergy in Electricity

Denmark 17% 🇩🇰
Finland 15% 🇫🇮
of country’s electricity consumption

Use of Bioenergy in Transportation

Brazil 25% 🇧🇷
Sweden 21% 🇸🇪
of country’s total transport energy

Use of Bioenergy in Heat

Denmark 28% 🇩🇰
Sweden 25% 🇸🇪
of country’s heat consumption

80% of Solid Biomass Is Used for Heat

3%
of global heat comes from solid biomass

20% of Solid Biomass Is Used for Electricity

2%
of global electricity comes from solid biomass

Sources of solid biomass: natural woodlands, managed forests, fuelwood plantations

98% of Liquid Biofuels Are Used for Transportation*

4%
of global transportation energy comes from liquid biofuels

*_{Almost all the biofuel use for transportation is for road transport. Biofuel use for air transport and shipping is small but expected to grow in decarbonization scenarios.}

91% of Biogas Is Used for Heat and Electricity

4%
of global heat comes from biogas

<1%
of global electricity comes from biogas

Note: 9% of biogas is upgraded to renewable natural gas (RNG). It can then be mixed into natural gas networks or directly used as a transport fuel.

Largest Biomass Electricity Producer

China 20% 🇨🇳
US 11% 🇺🇸
of global electricity generated from biomass and waste

Most Biomass Heat Generation

Europe 88%
of total global biomass heat

Highest Penetration

Finland 14% 🇫🇮
of country’s total electricity consumption

Highest Usage of MSW

Japan 75% 🇯🇵
Denmark 67% 🇩🇰
of MSW incinerated for energy recovery

Largest Production Capacity

US 41% 🇺🇸
of total global refining capacity

Largest Consumer

US 40% 🇺🇸
of total global biofuels consumption

Highest Penetration

Brazil 25% 🇧🇷
Sweden 21% 🇸🇪
of country’s transportation energy comes from biofuels

Largest Producer

Europe 45%
of total global biogas

Largest Consumer

Germany 35% 🇩🇪
of total global biogas-based electricity

Highest Penetration

Germany 6% 🇩🇪
of country’s electricity comes from biogas

Largest Production Capacity

North Carolina 17%
Georgia 15%
of total biomass production capacity

Largest Consumers

Florida 9%
California 9%
of total biomass consumption

970,000 households in New England (17%) use wood for space heating

Highest Penetration

Vermont 17%
of state’s electricity comes from biomass

Largest Producer

Iowa 25%
of biofuels produced in the US

Largest Consumers

California 11%
Texas 11%
of total biofuels consumed in the US

Highest Penetration

California 6%
of transport fuel is biofuels

Largest Installed Capacity

California 17%
of US biogas capacity

Largest Consumer

Massachusetts 27%
of US biogas consumption for electricity

Highest Penetration

Rhode Island 2%
of state’s electricity generation capacity is biogas

Drivers

• Widely available resource in many settings
• Easy to store (particularly solid biomass and liquid biofuels)
• Taps waste as a fuel (e.g., landfill, forestry industry, sewage, etc.)
• Semi-renewable but must be carefully managed to ensure sustainability
• Diverse bioenergy resources, each with different characteristics
• Can replace fossil fuels, particularly for transportation and heat
• Useful byproducts, such as fertilizer
• Potential to be carbon neutral

Barriers

• Potential competition with agricultural land and resources for food crops
• Planting single crops (monoculture) degrades soil and reduces biodiversity
• Use of pesticides and fertilizer harms water quality
• Can require lots of water usage
• Significant air pollution, except for biogas
• Net-carbon impact is unclear; some fuels are not carbon neutral
• Large land-use requirements that lead to deforestation
• Biomass-based power plants operate at a lower temperature than fossil fuel plants, which reduces efficiency

Climate Impact: Low to High

• Bioenergy crops have different energy yields, and some crops require significant energy inputs, reducing or eliminating their carbon savings
• Land use change such as deforestation or conversion of peat swamps to fuel crops releases carbon dioxide and methane
• Tapping waste streams for bioenergy can reduce these impacts

Environmental Impact: Medium to High

• Significant air pollution (e.g., vehicles burning biofuels deteriorate air quality and human health, particularly in urban settings)
• Bioenergy crop production may induce deforestation (e.g., in Southeast Asia, rainforests were converted to palm oil plantations to feed the EU’s demand for biodiesel)
• Agricultural processes can impact soil, water resources, and local biodiversity (e.g., increase in fertilizer use for corn ethanol has contributed to the dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico)

Updated December 2023