AEBIOM sees bioenergy growing by 33 Mtoe by 2020

Bioenergy already accounts for 60% of the renewable energy consumption of EU and is well on track to increase by at least 33 Mtoe by 2020, Brussels-based industry association AEBIOM says in a new publication.

In its annual statistical report – European Bioenergy Outlook 2015, AEBIOM notes that biomass currently contributes about 123 Mtoe to the energy supply (primary energy production) of the EU, almost as high as that of indigenous gas and higher than that of oil.

According to the report, 74,6% of the biomass consumed today for energy purposes is used to produce heat (78.4 Mtoe), followed by bioelecticity with 13.5 Mtoe and biofuels for transport with 13.1 Mtoe. The largest part of biomass consumed in the heat sector goes to the residential market.

The increasing importance of biomass in the EU energy system is accompanied by a better use of EU’s internal resources, as indeed, biomass imports represent today only 3,84% of the EU´s gross inland consumption of biomass, AEBIOM notes.

What is more, the number of jobs in the bioenergy sector in 2013 was close to 500,000 people and the added value was estimated at EUR 56 billion, according to latest available data of EuObserv´ER.

AEBIOM is a non-profit international organisation that brings together 30 national associations and around 90 companies from all over Europe.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!