By 'biomass' we mean all residual flows of biological origin – largely from agriculture, forestry, and maintenance of parks and public gardens. Plants and trees absorb CO₂ from the atmosphere for their growth. Biomass can be used in the energy transition for the production of energy, materials and chemicals and thus replaces the use of fossil energy carriers (coal, oil, natural gas). There are intense discussions about this, especially about the use of woody biomass for the production of electricity, heat and transport fuels in the short and medium term. These discussions include the extent to which the use of woody biomass contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the effects on biodiversity and air quality. It does not seem likely that scientists will soon agree on whether, and if so to what extent, bioenergy contributes to making our energy supply more sustainable. In the longer term (think 2050), it is expected that biomass will mainly be used as a raw material for the production of materials and chemicals.
Foreword
The answer to this question concerns the use of biomass in the energy transition. The word “biomass” – meaning “material of biological origin” – also includes all living things plus food and feed, but that is not what this answer is about. Part of the biomass is used for energy production and for the production of materials and chemicals. Think of furniture, construction wood, thatched roofs, paper and cardboard, but also plastic, paint, glue and dyes of vegetable origin. We thus understand the concept of energy transition in the broadest sense of the word: This answer is not only about the generation of energy, but also about the phasing out of fossil energy carriers (coal, oil, natural gas) as raw materials for materials and chemicals that lead to CO₂ emissions later in the chain (when burning plastics or using fertilizer). Biomass therefore plays a crucial role in the circular economy. After all, the energy transition is part of the broader movement towards 'circular', an economic system that no longer relies on finite resources.
The Dutch government will have to make political decisions about the application of woody bioenergy in the Netherlands in the coming decade, for example by deciding on an announced phase-out path. The use of woody biomass will have to be weighed against the availability of alternative techniques to further increase the supply of renewable energy. It is important to realize that - when biomass is harvested from forests and other sources that are managed in a sustainable manner while maintaining (or growing) carbon stocks and biodiversity - this biomass contributes responsibly and effectively to reducing CO₂ emissions and the energy transition.
Current use of biomass
Currently, the use of biomass contributes a small part to the Dutch energy supply, but accounts for a large part of our production of renewable energy. In 2019, renewable energy contributed 8,7% to the gross energy final consumption in the Netherlands (all electricity, heat and transport fuels we used in the Netherlands), of which almost 60% was supplied by biomass via bioelectricity, bioheat and biotransport fuels (CBS 2020).
Exact figures on the use of biomass in the production of materials or chemicals are not available, but this use is modest when compared to the amount of fossil energy carriers used for this purpose. For example, coal and natural gas are used to produce concrete, steel and fertilizers, and petroleum is used to produce plastics and basic chemicals.
Biomass for energy, CO₂ emissions and biodiversity
There is a lot of controversy about the CO₂ emissions from biomass use for energy. Viewed from a distance, this subject is not very complicated either. Two things are important.
Firstly, it is important that the amount of carbon absorbed by trees and plants as CO₂ from the air during growth is not less than the amount of carbon that is harvested. If not, the use of biomass for energy generation will lead to elevation of the CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere and that is not the intention, the biomass is used in an energy transition that should lead to fewer CO₂ emissions! Therefore, forests and other areas from which biomass is harvested must be managed sustainably to maintain above- and below-ground carbon stocks. In addition, the preservation of biodiversity is crucial. Maintaining carbon stocks and biodiversity in forests requires a good understanding of forest development, as well as policies (and recommendations) to ensure sustainable forest management. For those who want to know more about this subject, read, for example, the recent report of the Joint Research Center of the European Commission (JRC 2021).
Secondly, it is important to realize that the use of sustainably harvested biomass is still associated with CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels. Biomass is often transported using fossil fuels and in many cases modest amounts of fossil energy are required for the production of biomaterials and biochemicals. Small amounts of fossil energy are now also used in the production and transport of other forms of renewable energy such as wind turbines and solar panels. The intention is that production and transport will become CO₂ emission-free in the years up to 2050.
European regulations for biomass currently only apply to energy generation from biomass. This requires a minimum of 50 to 80 percent CO₂ reduction, depending on the date of commissioning of the installation. Details on this can be found in Article 29 (paragraph 10) of the European Directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (European Commission, 2018).
Possible contribution of biomass to the energy transition
We do not know exactly how much sustainable biomass is available and estimates have a wide range (see, for example, PBL 2020). Nevertheless, the global availability of biomass is more than sufficient to allow the energy transition in the Netherlands to be based to a significant extent on sustainable biomass, except that it is not clear what share (the "fair share") of those globally available raw materials we have in the Netherlands. should use. Of course, this also plays a role in the fact that more and more other countries will want to use biomass for the energy transition in the coming years and decades. After all, these countries must also make efforts to make their contribution to the Paris climate agreement. Figures and background of this “fair share” discussion can be found in chapter 3 of a report from the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) on the availability and application possibilities of biomass (PBL 2020).
The policy of the Dutch government - based on the above-mentioned PBL report and an advice based on it "Biomass in Balance" from the Social Economic Council (SER 2020) - is that in the longer term the use of biomass for the energy transition must shift: the the use of low-value applications such as electricity, light road transport and heat is being phased out and the use of high-quality applications such as materials and chemicals is being increased (IenW/EZK 2020). Some other applications such as aviation and shipping, heavy road transport and high temperature heat have been mentioned as bridging applications. The need for biomass for various applications until 2050 is outlined in the figure below.
Figure 1: Possible development per application area of biomass. Taken from SER Biomass in Balance (2020)
But how big is the future contribution of biomass?
In the above-mentioned government vision, there is therefore room for the application of biomass in the energy transition. At the same time, that space is limited because the carbon stocks in forests and soils decrease if the use of biomass increases too much. This would result in the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions becoming smaller or even turning into an increase.
The role of biomass has also been highlighted in other studies that look at changes in our energy supply in the coming decades. Also in these studies, including recent publications from the International Energy Agency (IEA, 2020) and Berenschot & Kalavasta (2020), biomass will also contribute to reducing CO₂ emissions in 2050 and beyond.
There is no government document or scientific report in which the expected future contribution of biomass to the energy transition in the Netherlands is expressed in hard numbers. Most experts agree that this contribution will be “modest but significant”: at least as large as the current contribution and possibly considerably larger. It is of course important that we use scarce biomass as efficiently as possible.
Discussion about biomass: scientists disagree
In the Netherlands, there has been a discussion for years about the use of biomass for energy production. This mainly concerns the questions of when and to what extent the use of woody biomass contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to what extent the use of biomass results in reduced biodiversity and reduced air quality. Scientists are sometimes diametrically opposed to each other in this discussion.
No attempt is made here to explain this discussion in more detail as it is done elsewhere in a very understandable way, such as in a recent online article by Follow the Money (2020). It is important to emphasize that this discussion is mainly about the use of woody biomass for energy production; the use of biomass for the production of materials and chemicals can count on broader approval. There is also little or no objection to the production of green gas from, for example, sewage sludge, manure or agricultural residual products.
The aforementioned PBL report shows that the subject can be approached from different angles. It makes quite a difference from which perspective someone approaches the use of biomass for energy generation, see the figure below from the PBL report. The differences in opinion do not so much concern the final image mentioned above, but mainly the pace at which the transition from low to high-quality applications should take place.
Figure 2: The social debate about biomass. Source: De Gemeynt & MSG Sustainable Strategies – Biomass in perspective (2020)
What now?
It seems unlikely that scientists will reach an agreement any time soon, as they consider the question of “biomass for energy?” approach from different perspectives. Political decisions will have to guide the use of biomass for energy in the Netherlands in the coming decade. Several motions have been submitted calling on the Dutch government to phase out the use of biomass for heat and to stop subsidizing it. Minister Wiebes has indicated that there will be a phase-out path, which, however, will no longer be determined by the current outgoing cabinet. The House of Representatives subsequently adopted a motion in February 2021 to end the subsidy for biomass power stations (motion by Esch, 2021). Details about this ongoing policy discussion can be found in a recent presentation (PBL, March 2021). An important point of attention in such a phase-out path is whether there are sufficient alternatives to bioenergy for producing sustainable heat for heating networks. A recent brief analysis (HERE Opgewekt, 2020) concludes not.
