Bioenergy

The technology to produce bioenergy is ready today and has a proven track record delivering reliable energy to industry and households. Bioenergy involves a range of power generation technology to efficiently extract considerable quantities of clean, low-emission electricity from sources such as agricultural crop wastes, plantation wood waste, urban garden and food waste, sugar cane residues (known as bagasse), sewage and animal wastes.

Bioenergy generates power using a renewable fuel source that can be stored and controlled. Plants can be used to generate electricity in many cases all year round, 24 hours a day as base load power. Landfill gas plants, already in operation across all Australian capital cities, often operate for over 90 per cent of the year, comparable to traditional energy power stations.

Greenhouse gas savings

Bioenergy is a clean energy source that creates little or no net greenhouse emissions depending on the type of biomass and conversion technology used. It is also capable of being carbon negative if carbon capture and sequestration is employed.

In Australia

Australia has an abundance of sustainable biomass resources that are currently underutilised. Bioenergy generates an estimated 2,500 GWh of electricity in Australia per year - a contribution of around 1 per cent to Australia's electricity and around 12 per cent of renewable energy generation.

Australia has a variety of bioenergy feedstocks including sugar cane bagasse, sewage gas, landfill gas, wood waste and black liquor, energy crops, agricultural products and their wastes and municipal solid waste. In Australia most of the energy created from biomass fuels is in the form of heat from firewood and bioenergy from bagasse (sugar cane waste) or wood wastes.

Bioenergy resources are located across all the states of Australia, with most regions engaged in agriculture, forestry and food production producing substantial waste biomass that could be used to support power production.

Potential

Detailed analyses, both international (the International Energy Agency, the UK Government, and the European Commission) and within Australia indicate that bioenergy can play a significant role in future electricity supply.

For example, the amount of electricity generated from bagasse could be significantly increased if sugar mills and associated power plants were modernised into more efficient operations, and if more effort was made to gather all of the cane trash which could be used in electricity generation – currently only 50 per cent of the cane biomass available for use is collected.

Global view

Around 10 per cent of the worlds primary energy consumption comes from bioenergy. The majority of the world's bioenergy is used directly for heat production through the burning of biomass with only 4 per cent being used for electricity generation. The main growth markets for power generation from bioenergy are the United States, European Union led by Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom, and Brazil, China and Japan.

Bioenergy Myths and Facts

This Fact Sheet helps to debunk some of the myths surrounding bioenergy, such as 'Does bioenergy threaten native forests?' or 'Is bioenergy a renewable energy?'

To download the Fact Sheet addressing these Myths and Facts click here.

Waste-to-Energy Fact Sheet

Waste-to-energy is an important type of bioenergy. This refers to any waste treatment that creates energy from a waste source. Waste-to-energy is unique because it doesn’t just produce renewable energy – it also provides other environmental and economic benefits.

To download the Fact Sheet outlining the benefits of waste-to-energy click here.

Energy Crop Fact Sheet

Energy crops are an important type of bioenergy. This refers to crops grown specifically for energy production. This can include both annual and perennial crops; and both agricultural and non-agricultural crops. Energy crops are unique because they don’t just produce renewable energy – they also provide other environmental and economic benefits.

To download the Fact Sheet outlining the benefits of energy crops click here.

Using Pellets for Bioenergy

Pellets are a compacted type of bioenergy. They are typically made of timber waste, sawdust and agricultural waste that is dried and processed into a densely compressed cylindrical pellet measuring about 1cm long, resembling rabbit and chicken food. The potential for heat and power from pellets in Australia is huge but is yet to be fully realised due to a lack of incentives and long-term policy certainty.

To download the Fact Sheet outlining the benefits of pellets click here.

Using Bagasse for Bioenergy

When sugarcane is squeezed for its juice, a fibrous pulp material is left over. This material is processed into a usable form called ‘bagasse’.

Australia’s sugar industry has used bagasse to meet its electricity and heat requirements for over 100 years. Today, bagasse is a major contributor in the bioenergy sector - accounting for over 60 per cent of Australia’s dedicated bioenergy capacity.

To download the Fact Sheet outlining the benefits of bagasse click here.

Review of the Australian Bioenergy Industry 2011

This report provides a snapshot of the current bioenergy industry in Australia, information about the economic benefits of bionenergy, the current policy and regulatory environment in Australia, as well as an international snaphot of the industry.

To download the 2011 member-only report, click here.

To download the 2010 report, click here.

Removing Barriers Facing Bioenergy in Australia

Today bioenergy contributes approximately 11.5 per cent of Australia's renewable energy generation. The Clean Energy Council's 2008 Australian Bioenergy Roadmap identified Australia's bioenergy potential and established generation targets for 2020 and 2050 of 11,000 GWh and 73,000 GWh respectively. These targets were conservative and, although theoretically possible, will not be realised without the removal of a range of barriers that are currently limiting the growth of bioenergy in Australia. These barriers include fuel resource availability, costs and locational issues. The Clean Energy Council commissioned SKM MMA to identify the barriers in more detail and develop potential solutions.

	To download the full report click here
	To download the summary document click here

Australian Bioenergy Roadmap

The Australian Bioenergy Roadmap was created by the bioenergy industry as a first step to ensuring that bioenergy becomes a significant contributor to Australia's future stationary energy supply while reducing our carbon pollution.

The Roadmap sets a clear strategy to achieve: