Overview
Modern bioenergy conversion technologies provide proven alternatives to fossil fuel for heat, power and transport applications.
Replacing fossil fuels with biomass is a proven pathway and highly relevant for coal-dependent economies in Asia
As a chemical store of energy, biomass is easy to store and helps to balance intermittent renewables e.g. wind and solar
The sustainability and environmental integrity of biomass supply chains is the first priority when screening bioenergy projects
Biogas projects which capture methane emissions tackle global warming head-on and are among the highest impact renewable energy projects.
Biomass
Biomass is renewable organic material that comes from plants and animals. Biomass was the largest source of energy until the 19th century. Biomass continues to be an important fuel in many countries, IEA estimates that about 10% of total primary energy use is provided by bioenergy. Much of this use is as a traditional fuel source for cooking and heating in developing countries. Unfortunately these traditional uses are both unsustainable and highly inefficient.
Modern biomass energy is highly efficient and is becoming much more widely used for power generation, including co-firing with coal in thermal power plants. As a fuel, biomass is reliable and easily stored and represents an ideal drop-in fuel for coal-dependent electricity systems in Asia. However, it is challenging to scale up biomass power generation and to build truly sustainable supply chains.
Biogas
Biogas contains about 60% methane and is a valuable alternative to conventional (fossil fuel) natural gas. Biogas is produced naturally wherever organic wastes are allowed to decay anaerobically. When this happens in an uncontrolled manner, vast quantities of methane is released to the atmosphere. Methane has global warming potential (GWP) 80 times greater than carbon dioxide (measured over 20 years). Capturing fugitive methane emissions is a highly sustainable source of renewable energy. Biogas systems produce energy that displaces fossil fuels and capture fugitive methane emissions. Methane is the second-largest and fastest-growing greenhouse gas; there can be no ‘net zero’ without tackling methane emissions.
Biogas is a reliable and predictable source of renewable energy and it complements intermittent renewables such as solar and wind. Biogas makes a direct impact on climate action and plays an important role delivering clean water and sanitation.