Biomass energy

What is it?

How powerful is it?

How does it work?

Problems

Biomass energy in Australia

What is it?

Biomass is any kind of organic matter produced by plants and animals. Biomass energy systems convert this matter to fuel for energy.

In NSW, the biomass energy industry is researching the production of energy from:

• methane gas (eg, from landfills and sewage treatment plants)
• wet wastes (eg, abattoirs, feedlots and food processing)
• dry agricultural byproducts (eg, sugar cane waste)
• municipal mixed wastes (eg, household garbage and prunings)
• forestry byproducts (eg, remnants from sawmills and forestry operations)

How powerful is it?

SEDA (NSW Sustainable Energy Development Authority) estimates that a biomass energy plant powered by agricultural and wet wastes from 16 sites across NSW could generate over 60 megawatts (MW) of electricity. This is enough to power 21,000 homes.

How does it work?

Organic matter is turned into fuel using technologies such as gas collection, gasification (converting solid material to gas), combustion and digestion (for wet wastes).

The fuel is then converted to energy using the same technologies used for fossil fuels. The difference is that biomass fuels:

• are a renewable resource that can be replaced or grown each year;
• recycle waste water and materials and reduce pollution from untreated waste streams;
• capture and use greenhouse gases before they can escape into the atmosphere.

Problems

Burning biomass fuels still releases greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In some cases, where stronger greenhouse gases would otherwise be emitted, there is a greenhouse benefit. In others, where the product could have other benefits rather than being burned for energy, other energy sources would be better for the climate.

And it's no good trying to fix one environmental problem but making another worse in the process. Possibly the biggest problem with biomass energy is that some biomass fuels come from unsustainable sources or may indirectly support environmental pollution and degradation.
For example, biomass energy from the burning of municipal waste discourages the more environmentally beneficial solution of reusing and recycling materials. It can also produce toxic pollution such as dioxins.

Some companies want to burn wood materials from native forest logging to produce 'renewable energy'. Most environmentalists oppose this as it would encourage greater logging of our precious ancient forests.

Greenpeace believes that a sustainable approach to developing biomass energy systems must address concerns such as: burning wood from native forests; the use of genetically modified organisms; intensive fertiliser and pesticide use; loss of top-soil; increase in salinity and toxic emissions.

Biomass energy in Australia

Biomass energy systems are not widely used yet in Australia, even though we have the technology. If developed in environmentally sensitive ways, it offers an opportunity to reduce catastrophic climate change while creating extra income, especially in rural areas.