A new report from the European Commission, published on 27 October, looks at the production of bioenergy from agricultural and forestry raw materials and organic waste, as part of the report on the state of the Energy Union in 2023 (see EUROPE 13278/5).
Bioenergy remains the main source of renewable energy in the EU, accounting for 59% of renewable energy consumption in 2021.
Primary solid biofuels account for the largest share (70.3%), followed by liquid biofuels (12.9%), biogas/biomethane (10.1%) and the renewable share of municipal waste (6.6%).
Biogas production in the EU in 2021 has risen to 14.9 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) (up 1.7% on 2020), with Germany the largest producer (50.4% of the total), followed by Italy and France.
With regard to solid biomass, primary supply in the EU will increase by 33.5% between 2008 and 2021. Germany is also the biggest producer country, producing three quarters of all woody/forest biomass and biomass from organic waste. Agricultural biomass is produced in Sweden and Finland, among other countries.
In the electricity sector, 45.6 million tonnes of oil equivalent of biomass fuels and bioliquids were used to produce 14.6 million tonnes of oil equivalent of gross electricity in 2021, representing 15% of all gross renewable electricity and 6% of total gross electricity.
Voluntary schemes and national certification schemes in EU countries help to ensure that biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels, as well as renewable hydrogen and its derivatives, are produced in a sustainable way, in line with EU sustainability criteria.
In relation to these schemes, the European Commission plans to launch a comprehensive study of the performance of the certification system under the Renewable Energy Directive by the end of the year.
To see the report, go to https://aeur.eu/f/9bg (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)