Biopower will be key to meeting renewable energy goals

August 29, 2013 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

Standalone biopower facilities have the potential to bring hundreds of megawatts of power online with each installation and can optimize existing industrial processes, such as combined heat and power (CHP), reducing coal emissions through co-firing. While biopower is currently limited as a subsidy-dependent enterprise, technological breakthroughs and the expansion of international trade in biomass pellets are expected to lead to sustained growth in the sector. In fact, worldwide revenue from biomass power generation will reach $11.5 billion annually by 2020, according to Navigant Research.

"Offering dispatchable, baseload support to the grid with high load reliability, biopower will continue to play a cornerstone role in meeting renewable energy targets," said Mackinnon Lawrence, principal research analyst with Navigant Research. "Logistical challenges associated with the collection, aggregation, transportation, and handling of biomass, however, will continue to limit the commercial potential of biomass power generation."

The expansion of the biopower market will largely be determined by government mandates. Official targets for the integration of renewable energy from biomass in national electricity and thermal production portfolios are set by government policies. These policies can be either aspirational or mandated, but if they remain in place through 2020, they could help the biomass market expand, according to Navigant. If incentives and subsidies continue to be implemented on an ad hoc basis, growth in this sector is likely to remain constrained.

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