The 16th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition held June 2-6, emphasized the new heights that biomass has reached in current and potential energy supply.
With more than 1,500 participants, representatives from 72 countries met in Valencia, Spain to discuss the key components that will help biomass meet the 2020 targets of the European Commission. These targets include a 20% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as compared to the levels in 1990; global primary energy use through energy efficiency is to also be lowered by 20%; and the share of renewable energies in the EU’s overall mix should increase by 20%.
Biomass is top on the agenda because it provides an important role for renewables. Its versatility ranges from heat and power in the stationary sector to biofuels, mobile applications, and materials and chemicals. In addition, biomass has the ability to compensate for increased power fluctuations resulting from wind and solar energy in the generation of electricity.
“The use of biomass in combination with other forms of Renewable Energies (RE) has