Biomass Power Market: Getting ready for the Future

For decades, the use of fossil fuels for power generation globally severely dented the environment, increasing CO2 emissions. This shifted the focus on renewable energy sources, thus favoring the adoption of biomass. Biomass power refers to electricity generated from organic matter, such as plants, agricultural residue, animal waste, etc. It provides significant environmental and consumer benefits, by generating fewer emissions, improving forest air quality, and offering reliable electricity supply to complement intermittent sources. As a result, the global biomass power market is likely to grow, with CAGRs of 6.08% (in revenue) and 6.51% (in volume) during the forecast period from 2022 to 2028.

Applications Soar as Demand for Biomass Power Heats Up

Biomass power is used in residential applications for cooking or space heating. Whereas, industrial and commercial entities utilize it for purposes like hot water heating, space heating, and electricity generation. Industrial leads the application segment, accounting for the largest revenue of $31.55 billion in 2021

Supportive Government Policies promote Bioenergy Adoption

With a view to phase out coal-based power generation as a sustainable development measure, governments across the world are turning to bioenergy (obtained by burning biomass). For instance, in India, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy launched a scheme in 2019 offering financial aid for biomass power projects.

Whereas, in the United States, the number of biomass power plants increased from nearly 485 in 2003 to more than 760 in 2016. This has been possible due to the government’s favorable policies and initiatives, such as the Rural Energy for America Program.

 The European Market shows Promising Trends

Policies in the European Union (EU) encourage the use of biomass for energy production. The New EU Forest Strategy for 2030, which aims at improving the multifunctionality of forests, promotes the use of forest waste as a biomass source to ensure environmental benefits. It also sets the vision and concrete actions required to increase the quantity and quality of European forests by focusing on their protection, restoration, and sustainable management.

Further, Sweden-based Vattenfall AB, a key market player, is a founding member of the Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP). The SBP is a certification scheme designed with the objective of developing and maintaining an industry standard to ensure that solid biomass used for power generation complies with biomass legality and sustainability regulations in EU countries.

Based on the idea that the carbon produced by burning solid biomass would be reabsorbed during the tree development process, biomass is considered carbon-neutral under EU laws. Solid biomass feedstock is most frequently converted to energy by using combustion technology Combustion leads the technology segment in the Europe biomass power market, accounting for the largest revenue of $21.85 billion in 2021.

Besides this, the markets in Japan and Argentina are also poised for growth, as their governments invite bids from market players to establish biomass power plants under various programs, thus creating a supportive environment.

Top Players’ Growth Strategies Intensify Competitive Rivalry

The presence of leading companies, such as General Electric, Ramboll Group, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, and Veolia Environnement SA, with global repute and technical expertise, has enhanced the level of competition in the market. Several top players have made strides by securing contracts to help them expand their footprints into newer territories.

For instance, the Dangjin plant in Chungnam, South Korea, is Asia’s largest biomass power plant, with a 105 MW electricity generation capacity. The demanding process of power generation at the plant is accomplished using the Valmet DNA technology by Valmet Oyj.

Future Prospects – Bumpy Road Ahead?

Solar and wind energy are renewable energy sources used as substitutes for biomass power. Due to increased R&D as well as the provision of financial incentives for their use, they are considered viable options, with high demand. This has significantly impacted the market share of biomass power in the global energy mix, and is a key challenge in the path of growth.

However, solar and wind are intermittent energy sources, and cannot ensure continuous power supply. The capability of biomass power to thus supply electricity round-the-clock is expected to aid its adoption and lower the threat of substitutes. Another key advantage of biomass over alternatives is its versatility. By pyrolysis, it can be converted into biochar, which improves soil quality and also reduces GHG emissions by sequestering carbon. These benefits indicate the massive growth potential of the biomass power market.

FAQs:

Q 1) Which are the main segments considered in the biomass power market report?

Ass Application, Feedstock, and Technology are the key segments considered in the market report.

Q 2) What are the market estimations in terms of revenue and volume?

A: The global biomass power market is estimated to be valued at $111.07 billion in revenue and 10448.15 million MWh in volume by 2028.