Experts see big role for biomass in energy

Biomass is emerging as a rapidly developing clean energy with vast potential, experts said, and called for further efforts to diversify its application scenarios and utilization pathways.

Their remarks came after the State Council recently announced an action plan for energy conservation and carbon reduction for 2024-25. It relaxed requirements on new energy utilization in resource-rich areas from 95 percent to 90 percent.

This, China Galaxy Securities' estimates suggest, could potentially unlock 74 gigawatts of new energy capacity and benefit industries like wind, solar and biomass energy.

Biomass refers to material derived from living organisms that are utilized for bioenergy production. Examples include wood and wood residues, energy crops, agricultural by-products such as straw and organic waste from both industry and households.

"Biomass energy not only has a wide range of raw material sources but also comes in various forms, such as solid formed fuel, liquid fuel and gas fuel. These characteristics make biomass energy a stable, continuous and easily operable new energy source," said Du Xiangwan, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Latest data from the Biomass Energy Industry Promotion Association showed that biomass power generation has grown rapidly in recent years. By the end of 2023, China's grid-connected biomass power reached 44.14 million kilowatts in installed capacity, a fourfold increase since 2013.

Non-electric biomass applications are also expanding, with significant developments in biogas, biomass heating and bio-liquid fuel industries, according to the association.

On Wednesday, China's domestically developed C919 aircraft successfully completed a test flight powered by bio-jet fuel developed by Sinopec. On the same day, the ARJ21 aircraft also completed a successful bio-jet fuel test flight in Shanghai. This marks the first time Chinese commercial aircraft have been powered by bio-jet fuel, processed from spent cooking oil.

Biomass energy is also gaining traction in the heating sector. With costs comparable to coal, biomass heating is affordable for residents. By the end of 2023, biomass clean heating covered regions measured over 300 million cubic meters in China.

"China's annual biomass resource production is approximately 3.494 billion metric tons, with a potential energy utilization equivalent to 460 million tons of standard coal, indicating substantial development potential," Zhang Dayong, secretary-general of the association, said.

Zhang called for further measures to broaden the pathways to realize the environmental value of biomass energy. This includes establishing a green certification mechanism for biomass energy products and encouraging the production of biogas, biodiesel and green thermal energy.

"The non-electric utilization of biomass energy will be a key development focus in the future, particularly in sectors that are challenging to achieve decarbonization through conventional methods," he said.

For instance, in the industrial sector, biogas can be used for high-temperature heating and raw material processing in steel and cement production. In the transportation sector, airlines can use bio-jet fuel to reduce carbon emissions.