1 2 5.4% The growth of primary energy production from solid biomass in the EU between 2011 and 2012. solid biomass barometer solid biomass barometer SOLId bIOmaSS barOmEtEr A study carried out by EurObserv’ER. rimary energy production from solid biomass is back on the road to growth, which according Pto EurObserv’ER stood at about 5.4% between 2011 and 2012. Output rose to 82.3 million tonnes of oil equivalent, which is a 4.2 Mtoe improvement on 2011, whose exceptionally mild winter put paid to the sector’s uninterrupted rise since 1999. This growth was enjoyed by all the solid biomass energy application sectors. Heat sales to heating networks increased 12.9% to 7.9 Mtoe in 2012 while electricity production, boosted by coal-fired power station conversions, gained 7.8% to produce 79.5 TWh. 68.0 Mtoe 79.5 TWh Heat consumption from solid biomass Electricity produced from solid biomass in the EU in 2012. in the EU in 2012. 82.3 Mtoe Primary energy production from john deere solid biomass in the EU in 2012. SOLID BIOMASS BAROMETER – EUROBSERV’ER – DECEMBER 2013 SOLID BIOMASS BAROMETER – EUROBSERV’ER – DECEMBER 2013 3 Delivery of the biomass 4 fuel to the boiler (plant of Facture, Gironde). particularly good performances from the processing sector only increased by were set at 13.5% on the Swedish market Poland and the UK, and also Germany, 1% and related to direct consumption and will gradually rise to 19.5% in 2020. Sweden and Spain. of wood logs and wood pellets by the forestry and paper pulp industries and c ontractS of difference to be by domestic heating systems. implemented in the Uk in 2014 News from solid biomass In January 2012, Sweden and Norway The Department of Energy & Climate couNtries launched a common market for green Change – DECC – claims that the UK used certificates to encourage investments in 2.5 Mtoe in 2012 (having produced 1.8 Mtoe Sweden & norway – a common renewable electricity, and particularly the same year). This represents a 10.4% market for green certificateS in biomass cogeneration. This new com- increase, which basically went towards In 2012, Sweden reverted to its 2010 out- mon market aims to increase renewable electricity production, which leapt 25.7% solid biomass barometer put level. According to Statistics Sweden, electricity output by 26.4 TWh between (or 1.4 TWh) between 2011 and 2012. The solid biomass barometer it produced more than 9.4 Mtoe of solid 2012 and 2020, namely by 13.2 TWh in main explanation for this change is the biomass energy in 2012, which is a 5.8% each country. In the case of Sweden, this conversion of the Tilbury B (750 MW) coal- increase. In 2012, the gross consumption target is additional to the extra 25 TWh fired power station into a wood pellet- of solid biomass reaches 1 toe/capita of electricity planned for between 2002 fuelled biomass plant at the end of 2011. (table 5). As no biomass is imported, all of and 2020. Under the terms of the system, However the plant shut down in August this output was earmarked for national the law forces all electricity consumers, 2013 (explanation follows further on). consumption. Most of the energy was both direct consumers – the industrial The UK is preparing to implement a new used in the processing sector, through who purchase on the wholesale market, market mechanism – contracts of diffe- sales to heating networks (a 15.1% rise and indirect consumers who source their rence – to support decarbonized electri- between 2011 and 2012, which is an electricity from electricity suppliers who city production (renewable and nuclear increase of 308 ktoe), but also for produ- pass on the cost to end consumers (busi- power) from 2014 onwards. The system, cing electricity (6.2% more, or a 599-GWh nesses and households), to purchase rodolphe escher/photothèque veolia rodolphe escher/photothèque increase). Heat consumption, outside green certificates. The quotas for 2013 n increasing part of European dip in production in 2011 turned out to be United States and Russia (see box) prima- Union heat and electricity pro- one-off because of the abnormally mild rily make up the difference between pro- Graph. n° 1 Aduction is played by solid bio- winter. In 2012, the solid biomass sector duction and consumption. Solid biomass primary energy prodution growth for the European Union since 2000 (in Mtoe) , mass, which includes wood, wood waste, returned to growth, as output increased Our survey reveals that a large part of , pellets and other green or animal waste. by 5.4% year-on-year, delivering an addi- the rise in solid biomass consumption in , Primary energy production in the EU tional 4.2 Mtoe (table 1). EurObserv’ER 2012 was taken up by heat production in , has increased at a mean annual rate of puts gross solid biomass primary energy the processing sector (sales to heating , 3.8% since the year 2000, when it stood consumption at 85.7 Mtoe in 2012, which networks) resulting in a 12.9% increase , at 52.5 Mtoe and had risen to 82.3 Mtoe by takes into account imports and exports between 2011 and 2012 for 7.9 Mtoe of , , 2012 according to preliminary estimates and amounts to a 5.8% rise (or 4.7 Mtoe). consumption (table 2). As consumption , gathered by EurObserv’ER (graph 1). The Imports of wood pellets from Canada, the in 2011 was unusually low because Nor- , thern Europe’s heating networks’ needs , were reduced by the mild winter tempe- , , ratures, part of this growth can be ascri- The wood pellet market is booming bed to catching up. At the same time, heat production was revived in this segment The European Union is the world’s largest wood pellet market. According in Austria and Poland. The processing to data in the 2013 European Bioenergy Outlook published by AEBIOM, sector is only one part of biomass heat the European Biomass Association, EU consumption was approximately 15.1 million tonnes in 2012, compared to world consumption of 22.4– (table 3). In 2012, 88.3% of solid biomass 24.5 million tonnes. European Union Member State wood pellet production in heat was directly used by the domestic 2012 is put at 10.5 million tonnes (9.5 million tonnes in 2011), which means that and industrial sectors, so the total final the EU must have imported approximately 30% of its consumption. The four heat consumption amounted to 68 Mtoe main European Union producer countries are Germany (2.2 million tonnes), – 4.6% increase. Sweden (1.2 million tonnes), Latvia (1 million tonnes) and Austria (0.9 million The solid biomass electricity production tonnes). trend is less vulnerable than heating According to GTIS (Global Trade Atlas Services) data, the United States became to annual temperature variations, as the top wood pellet exporter to the EU in 2012 with 1.764 million tonnes (1.029 electricity usage is less dependent on in 2011), overtaking Canada, which exported 1.346 million tonnes in 2012 temperature. Europe’s electricity output (1.174 in 2011). The other main suppliers to the EU are Russia (0.637 million according to EurObserv’ER data for rea- tonnes), Ukraine (0.217 million tonnes) and Belarus (0.112 million tonnes). ched 79.5 TWh in 2012, which equates to 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012* 7.8% year-on-year growth (table 4), with *Estimate. Decimals are written with a comma. Sources: years 2000-2010 Eurostat, years 2011 and 2012 EurObserv’ER. SOLID BIOMASS BAROMETER – EUROBSERV’ER – DECEMBER 2013 SOLID BIOMASS BAROMETER – EUROBSERV’ER – DECEMBER 2013 5 The coal plant of Tilbury B, near London, 6 was converted, at the end of 2011, into a biomass pellets fired unit. It was however decommissioned which is one of the main elements of the the wholesale market price) is positive. fired power stations into biomass plants in August 2013. British Electricity Market Reform – EMR, If the difference is negative, the produ- rather than constructing new plants. In will continue to exist alongside the ROCs cers have to reimburse the overpayment. October 2012, this policy was underpinned system until March 2017, when it will take As far as investors are concerned, the by the introduction of new bonuses under over as the only renewable electricity terms of this new system is still shrouded the ROCs system to set a 400-MW capa- promotion mechanism. In a contract of in uncertainty because the strike price, city ceiling for the construction of new difference system, producers sell their which dictates the system’s attractive- biomass plants. The ceiling was raised to energy at the wholesale market price ness, will be set for the years 2014–18 is 500 MW in 2013. and are paid an additional premium if not due to be announced until the end of The British government along with that the “difference” between a strike price 2013. In the meantime, the government of the Netherlands shares the distinc- and a reference price (which tends to be has plumped for converting existing coal- tion of having implemented a Feed-in solid biomass barometer Tariff system for heat. As it stands, the solid biomass barometer Renewable Heat Incentives (RHI) sys- tem, introduced in November 2011, only Tabl. n° 1 applies to non-domestic installations in Primary energy production and inland consumption of solid biomass in the the public, industrial and business sec- European Union in 2011 and 2012* (en Mtoe) tors. To be eligible, an installation must be equipped with a heat meter, and the 2011 2012 agreement, which also applies to coge- andrew molyneux Country Production Consumption Production Consumption neration plants, is for a 20-year period, and is geared to the system’s thermal out- Germany 11,054 11,054 11,811 11,811 put capacity.