How has the EU used biomass to date?

In 2004 the Gross Inland Consumption (GIC) of renewables in Europe was 109.5 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe). 72.3 Mtoe – or 66% of this figure – came from biomass. To illustrate this another way, in 2004 the total GIC in Europe was 1,747.2 Mtoe. This means that 4.13% of the total GIC in Europe came from biomass resources. It is therefore clear to see how important Biomass is to the energy system in the EU, and especially to the RES sector.

The deployment of biomass in the EU Member States obviously differs considerably between countries. It depends amongst other things on the resources available, the population density, the development of the energy system in the past, and effective support schemes for biomass.

Latvia, for example, has the highest relative use of biomass – 31.13% – from its total GIC of 4.4 Mtoe; in absolute terms France is leading the way with 11.92 Mtoe out of its GIC of 270.6 Mtoe, but this actually corresponds to a relative biomass deployment of 4.4%.

Biomass can be used for all the energy needs of modern societies. But due to differing historical development and efficiency differences between countries, its contribution to the three main uses of energy is very unevenly distributed. From the 72.3 Mtoe used in 2004, 48.26 Mtoe corresponded to biomass for heat, 22.03 Mtoe to biomass for bioelectricity, and 1.98 Mtoe to liquid biofuels.

And biomass supply originates from different sources. 61.5 Mtoe was wood-based bioenergy; 3.5 Mtoe agricultural-based bioenergy; and 7.3 Mtoe was waste used for energy purposes.

The EU biomass action plan

In 2005 the EU Commission adopted the EU Biomass Action Plan, a piece of legislation which aims to promote the deployment of biomass, and which contains concrete targets that need to be achieved by 2010. These targets are:

- 75 Mtoe biomass for heat;
- 55 Mtoe biomass for electricity;
- 19 Mtoe for transportation biofuels;
- 149 Mtoe of total biomass useage in 2010.

But if these ambitious targets are to be achieved, a number of political measures to boost the biomass sector will have to be adopted.

What issues need to be addressed?

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