Unease at 'limited' EU bioenergy growth projections

The European Commission's "limited" projection for bioenergy consumption growth out to 2030 is concerning, and the commission's focus on minimising use of whole trees for bioenergy is "troubling", according to industry association Bioenergy Europe.

An impact assessment accompanying the commission's proposal for a new 55pc greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target for 2030 envisages only "limited" biomass consumption growth, even if the power sector more than doubles its use of bioenergy by 2050. The commission's assessment assumes 2030 consumption of around 150mn t of oil equivalent (toe), only slightly higher than today's 144mn toe. And the commission's scenarios see 93pc of bioenergy used being produced domestically in both 2030 and 2050, with imports rising only slightly from 2020 to 2030, when they will reach no more than 8mn toe.

Bioenergy Europe breaks down current final bioenergy energy consumption at 119mn toe — 16mn toe for power, 15mn toe for transport and the remainder for heat. It sees use for heat rising by 26pc by 2030, against 2018 levels, with all uses at 160mn toe. But it is up to member states' to stipulate bioenergy's place in the energy mix, the association said. Bioenergy is by far the largest contributor to the EU's renewables share, at almost 60pc.

More generally, Bioenergy Europe welcomed the upwards revision to the EU's GHG emissions reduction target for 2030 — to 55pc from 40pc — as well as the inclusion of road transport and building sectors in the emissions trading system.

But it said it regrets the wording used in policy documents — specifically, the commission signalling the need to "minimise the use of whole trees and food and feed-based crops to produce energy". Bioenergy Europe called the term "whole trees" troubling, and said it is an arbitrary and emotive designation not related to a particular forest product or grade of wood.

The terminology could have policy implications, notably when the commission next year revises biomass sustainability criteria in the EU's 2018 renewable energy directive.

The commission's impact assessment also indicates long-term policy directions with respect to the 2050 timeframe, underlining the benefits of coupling the use of solid biomass with carbon capture and storage installations in the power and industrial sectors. With an eye to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, and increasing land use, land use change and forestry carbon sinks, officials also suggest that biomass users could buy credits certifying carbon removals from forest or wetland owners inside and outside the EU.

By Dafydd ab Iago