Rotterdam biomass throughput holds firm in 2Q

Biomass throughput at the Netherlands' Rotterdam port held higher on the year in the second quarter, as lower-than-average spring temperatures and firmer power and emissions prices supported strong biomass burn.

Biomass throughput was 437,000t in April-June, up from 426,000t a year earlier. The growth was down from the first quarter, when it climbed by 36.8pc on the year to 528,000t. Biomass throughput of 965,000t in the first half of 2021 was up from 812,000t a year earlier, and made up 2.6pc of the port's dry bulk throughput, unchanged from the first half of 2020.

Overall throughput increased by 5.8pc in the first half of 2021 from a year earlier, but the increase does not mean that the port "has already made up entirely for last year's corona dip", the Port of Rotterdam Authority said.

Strong output at German utility RWE's co-fired coal and biomass plants in the Netherlands — Eemshaven and Amer 9 — probably drove the higher biomass throughputs. The firm's Dutch biomass-fired generation jumped to 1.11TWh in April-June from 686GWh a year earlier, after it almost doubled on the year in the first quarter to 1.51TWh from 791GWh.

Cool weather may have boosted biomass and thermal power demand in the second quarter. Overnight temperatures in Amsterdam averaged 2°C in April and 6.5°C in May, 3.2°C and 2.1°C below the seasonal norm for the month, respectively.

Furthermore, a strong recovery in Dutch power prices and record high EU emissions trading system (ETS) prices encouraged the co-firing of biomass in the first half of the year.

The below-average temperatures drawing down stocks early this summer and continued strong biomass demand from power utilities in northwest Europe may have provided support for biomass prices in the region in recent weeks, particularly compared with last summer. The Argus-assessed spot price for industrial wood pellets delivered in the next 90 days on a cif northwest Europe basis has held above $160/t this month, against an average of $121.11/t over July last year.

By John Cooper