16 Feb 2021

Biomass in Europe: Consumption of solid biofuels grows in 2019

A new edition of the EurObserv’ER barometer shows the evolution of solid biomass consumption for energy uses. The latest published report, with data from 2019, reveals the growth in solid biofuel consumption as a source of electricity and heat in the EU-28 countries, from 100.4 Mtoe in 2018 to 102.6 Mtoe, an increase of 2.2%

The increment can be ascribed to both a significant rise in the electricity output of several countries and also to about 1.1% of additional heat consumption. The United Kingdom (509 ktoe), the Netherlands (320 ktoe), Poland (320 ktoe), Sweden (272 ktoe), the Czech Republic (267 ktoe), Germany (131 ktoe) and Finland (125 ktoe) are the top eight countries that consume more solid biomass as a result of a higher electricity production.

Biomass electricity output across the European Union of 28, was put at 106 TWh in 2019, which is a 5.8% year-on-year increase. On the other hand, solid biomass demand for thermal uses grew slightly in 2019, rated at 68.9 Mtoe, 0.6% more compared to 2018. Much of this increase can be caused by increased consumption of pelets, which is used to heat generation.

As the barometer shows, the future growth of solid biofuels heat and electricity production will depend on the implementation and strategic choices defined in the National Energy and Climate Plans 2030 (NECPs) by each Member State. Bioenergy Europe has made a preliminary analysis of these climate plans and its projections show that bioelectricity as a whole (i.e., not only that sourced from solid biomass, but also biogas, liquid biomass, and renewable household waste) will increase by about 30% over the next decade to reach 17.4 Mtoe in 2030 in the EU27 (equating to 202.4 TWh).

The barometer can be downloaded at the following link.