Why is there a rise in the number of biomass-fuelled power plants?

Biomass has been used for centuries for purposes of heating and cooking. Today developments in technology have enabled us to utilise plant materials to create electric energy.

Biomass is used to create bioenergy which is a sustainable energy source that uses organic materials to produce electricity and other forms of power. Bioenergy is carbon-neutral electricity that is generated from renewable organic waste that would just have been dumped in landfills, burned openly, or left as fodder for forest fires.

Agriculture and forestry residues along with industrial wastes can be used for developing biomass. Owing to its environment-friendly properties, biomass is an attractive fossil-fuel alternative. It is more evenly distributed over the surface of the Earth and is a renewable source of energy.

The simplest and most common way to harness energy from biomass is through direct combustion. Wood waste or other organic waste is burned in biomass power plants, to produce steam. This steam powers a turbine which provides electricity and heat to industries and homes. Fortunately, new technologies such as pollution controls and combustion engineering are now so advanced that any emissions produced from burning biomass are significantly less than those produced when using fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, oil).

A reliable and renewable source of energy, biomass has virtually no net contributions to the  global levels of greenhouse gas. When biomass is burned to produce clean electricity no new carbons are released back into the atmosphere. Instead what biomass releases is no different from the emissions that burning organic matter would produce. This forms a closed cycle, and the carbon released on burning biomass is re-absorbed by other plants in their growing cycle.

With the  adoption of biomass for carrying out different power plant operations there has been an concern regarding dependence on and a threat to forests and crops for creating biomass. However, this is not a matter of concern as clearing down forests or chopping down trees only for biomass to harness electricity is not an economically viable option. Bio-energy along with being renewable and environment-friendly is also very cost effective, especially energy that is produced using residuals of paper mills, wood collected from the forest floor, tree trimmings, and remainder wood from current, sustainable logging practices.

Another advantage biomass operated power plants have over others is that unlike fossil fuels that are formed over a million years, plants that make up biomass are easy to grow, collect, utilize and replace quickly without depleting natural resources. Use of biomass has a number of positive effects on the environment- it can help mitigate climate change; reduce acid rain; prevent soil erosion and water pollution; minimize pressure on landfills; provide wildlife habitat; and help maintain forest health through better management.