Biomass in the future European energy market

With Europe's ambitious target in mind to increase its share of renewable energy to 20% (a 34% share of energy for electricity production), this paper discusses the importance and challenges resulting from increased use of biomass. Biomass comprises a wide range of fuels featuring a variety of properties and qualities, and both usage and import will lead to dilemmas in relation to sustainability, area usage and food production. The paper also discusses Eurelectric's reasons why import criteria should be defined. The challenge of establishing the required capacity and the perspectives involved in added use are addressed here based on Danish experience and observations from two decades of development programmes. The development comprises generation of infrastructure, co-firing of straw and coal, gasification, new ways of exploiting the energy in household waste and second-generation bio-ethanol production.