The Opportunity of Bioelectricity

All electricity generation technologies have advantages and disadvantages and biomass electricity is no different. The use of biomass in the energy sector is a major opportunity for low-income and emerging economies with large biomass supply potentials. Harvesting biomass is labour-intensive while the export potential of biomass will trigger supporting investments in new infrastructure and logistic systems. New biomass flows can lead to additional investments in biorefineries in the next decades. The major threat to biomass electricity relates to the uncertain carbon balances of many biomass types. Adequate regulation should ensure the sustainable production of biomass. Although the management of biomass production can be significantly improved in the next decades, renewable energy choices in developed economies remain largely political decisions.

This book presents a balanced view of bioelectricity from a dynamic perspective by exploring the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of using biomass as a source of electricity. The analysis includes a detailed economic and environmental comparison of biomass generation technologies to other generation technologies (other renewable sources, fossil fuels and nuclear technologies). Factors which are considered include intermittent supply vs on-demand, storage, flexibility, costs of generation, and decarbonisation. This book is an important contribution to the debate about the role different technologies will play in the renewable energy mix.

Prof. Dr. Johan Albrecht is in the Dept of General Economics, University of Ghent and is a Senior Fellow at the Itinera Institute.