Energy from biomass

Mainly used as fuel for heat production, demand for biomass is increasing.

Biomass can be anything from energy crops to agricultural or forestry residues and waste. Biomass used to produce heat and generate electricity on a large scale comes primarily from forestry
bi-products, and is called wood fuel.

Energy from plants

Today, biomass also comes from energy forests. Biomass additionally includes farm refuse, such as straw, and wood from demolished buildings and some household waste.

Peat is not classified as biomass or as fossil fuel according to IPCC (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), although it could be defined as slowly renewable. It has its own category ’peat’.

A good alternative for the environment

Biomass is a renewable energy source that is also regarded as being carbon dioxide (CO₂) neutral over the long term,  since the trees, grass and crops from which it comes capture and store carbon as part of photosyntheses. This means the net release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is zero.

The future

Biomass will play an important role in the future, especially since using biomass instead of fossil fuels can reduce fossil-based carbon dioxide emissions from existing plants in the near term. The EU’s goal to increase the share of renewable energy sources in the European energy mix by at least 20% by 2020, will accelerate the development of new types of biofuels. Yet the sustainability of biomass use depends on the type of biomass and how it is produced, handled and used.

Policy-makers have agreed to increase the share of renewable energy sources in the production of electricity and heat – so demand for biofuel is increasing both in Sweden and in the rest of Europe.

Share of electricity generation based on biomass: