Global bioenergy potential could meet demand
December 17, 2009
By World Bioenergy Association
Dec. 17, 2009, Stockholm, Sweden – A position paper by the World Bioenergy Association based on a report by the Department of Energy and Technology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences shows that the global potential to produce biomass for energy in a sustainable way is sufficient to meet global energy demand.
Dec. 17, 2009, Stockholm, Sweden – A position paper by the World Bioenergy
Association (WBA) based on a report by the Department of Energy and Technology
at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences shows that the global
potential to produce biomass for energy in a sustainable way is sufficient to
meet global energy demand.
The estimated potential for bioenergy production is 1,135 to 1,548 exaJoule (EJ; 1018 J)
in 2050, based on various scientific studies. The global energy consumption is
490 EJ today, and could reach well over 1,000 EJ in 2050, according to
International Energy Agency projections.
“Bioenergy is cost effective. We can solve many environmental problems in society by using
waste products and by-products from food industry, agriculture, and forestry,
as well as household waste,” says William Holmberg, American Council On
Renewable Energy, USA, and WBA board member.
The current use of biomass for energy is only 50 EJ, approximately 10% of global
energy consumption. Bioenergy crops are grown on 25-million ha, which is only 0.5%
of total agricultural land.
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