Bioenergy Europe releases 2022 Statistical Report

Bioenergy Europe has announced the release of its 2022 Statistical Report Bioenergy Landscape and its accompanying Policy Brief. This report analyses the current state of European energy sources, energy production and consumption, biomass trade and sector employment.
The organisation stated that Russia's military aggression against Ukraine has exposed the European Union's (EU) over-reliance on foreign fossil fuels, and it highlighted the need to secure the autonomy of the EU's energy system. The high energy prices and the risk of supply shortages across the EU have made even more urgent the acceleration of the green and digital transition under the European Green Deal, to ensure a secure, more affordable, resilient and independent energy system, it added. Bioenergy has the potential to play a significant role in the ongoing energy transition, providing a clean, renewable source of energy that can help to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and curb greenhouse gas emissions.
The report highlights that, with the overall energy mix, bioenergy makes up 56.8% of all renewables and 11.4% of the total energy mix, making it a significant provider of renewable energy. Bioenergy's main market segment is still heating for residential as well as industrial consumers. It also emphasises that the bioenergy sector accounts for 486,300 jobs and its 2020 turnover represented €49.550 million in the EU27.
The decarbonisation of energy-intensive industrial processes with high temperatures and pressure requires technologies and systems that are not yet ready for the market, the organisation added. In this context, bioenergy is one of the few already available solutions.
As well as this, BECCS (Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage) is a solution to capture and permanently store carbon, achieving negative emissions. Readily scalable solutions like PyCCS (Pyrogenic Carbon Capture and Storage), through which biochar is produced, can also fast-track the European Commission’s efforts in achieving its climate goals set for 2050. With such a big contribution and potential, for both people and planet, a suitable policy framework should therefore be developed to better support industrial needs and allow for a thriving bioenergy sector, Bioenergy Europe said.
“In order to provide sustainable energy that is resilient to geopolitical crisis, Europe has to make use of its alternative sources, including bioenergy from solid biomass. We are now at a critical point in the transformation of our energy system: the traditional fossil fuel-based model of energy production is no longer an option” remarked Bioenergy Europe's policy officer, Ennio Prizzi.