Bio renewable power market growths
Global biopower green electricity generation capacities have been growing steadily. The leading countries for green electricity generation from biomass included the United States, China, Germany, Brazil, Japan, India and the United Kingdom.
In Americas, the USA has remained the largest producer of green electricity from biomass sources. In recent years, the overall US biomass electricity generation capacities have fallen in recent years. A key reason is that existing generation plants have faced increasing price competitions from alternative renewable generation sources under the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RFS) in a number of US states. However, the total US biopower capacity in operation has reportedly increased by 0.5 GW with the installation of 51 small-scale biopower generation plants.
In Europe, the growth in bio-electricity generation from both solid biomass and biogas has been continuing. These increases have largely been driven by the EU Renewable Energy Directive. Germany has become EU’s largest producer of green electricity from biomass. The UK’s biopower capacity has also increased. These were mainly due to growths in largcr-scale generation plants and to a continual growth in biogas productions for electricity. In Poland, capacity auction schemes have been introduced with dedicated tranches for municipal solid waste (MSW) plants.
In Asia, the biopower capacity in China has increased in response to the revised clean energy objectives in the 13th Five-Year Plan. The combustion of municipal solid wastes (MSWs) and agricultural wastes has accounted for most of the biopower generation in China. In Japan, biopower capacity and generation have both risen strongly. These have been driven by bioenergy being included in the Japan feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme. Japan’s imports of wood pellets for direct combustion and for use in co-firing installations have also grown rapidly. In the Republic of Korea, bioenergy generation has risen by over 40% in recent years. These increases have resulted from the Korean government efforts to reduce coal burning in electricity generation. The government reduced coal firing by introducing innovative co-firing with biomass. India’s biopower capacity has also increased with both higher on-grid and off-grid capacities.
In Latin America, Brazil has been the largest overall consumer of biopower and green electricity in the region. Brazil’s bioenergy power capacities have been growing steadily in recent years. Over 80% of the biomass-based electricity generation in Brazil has been fuelled by bagasse. These have been produced in large quantities in sugarcane production. Their uses in biopower production have helped to minimise biological waste and arc in line with circular economy developments in Brazil.
