Bioenergy

RENEWABLE ORGANIC MATTER USED AS FUEL

history

• Oldest source of renewable energy
• First used when we burned wood for heat
• Bioenergy harvests nature's stored solar energy
• Biomass used for 91% energy consumption till 1860s
• First small biomass power plants built in 1982

BIOMASS IS GROWN AND FOUND NATURALLY

RELEASED THROUGH MANY PROCESSES

bIOENERGY TODAY

• Used in vehicles
• Generates electricity
• Liquid fuels - ethanol and other biofuels
• Burned directly for heat
• Heating, power generation, and transport

advantages

• Fast growing biomass - renewable
• Cheaper to retrieve than fossil fuels
• Wide array of uses
• Zero net carbon emissions
• Potential to reduce air pollution 

disadvantages

• Some materials not available year round
• Take up land for food
• Energy expensive to produce large scale
• Lots of resources needed to grow biomass 

In half

300,000 jobs

POpularity

Projects developed to be more ECONOMICALLY EFFICIENT

Conserve

other facts

• Yearly power plants burn 60 million tons of wood
• 60 mill. tons = 37 billion kilowatt hrs. electricity
• Sugars and starches are made into ethanol
• Energy crops are called biomass feedstocks
• More energy than wind and solar combined

Titles of Sources

• Energy Informative
• Clean Energy
• Climate Student Solutions
• Biomass Energy
• Science 8th grade Textbook