Global biomass power capacity expected to grow by 12 GW next 5 yrs - report

Sep 9, 2011 - Global installed biomass electricity generation capacity can increase by up to 12 GW in the next five years, a report of Ecoprog and Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology (UMSICHT) forecasts.

According to the report, entitled The World Market for Biomass Power Plants, some 800 biomass power plants with a combined capacity of 8.7 GW have been installed in the past five years, and some 9,000 plants are expected to come on stream by 2015, driven by the rising number of feed-in tariffs for electricity from biomass.

At present, global installed biomass power capacity totals 22.5 GW from 2,000 plants spread in 40 countries.

Investments in construction and maintenance are seen to rise to EUR 15.5 billion (EUR 21.5bn) a year from EUR 12.2 billion currently.

Biomass is most prevalent in Europe, mainly in Finland, Sweden and Germany. Other leading biomass power markets are Brazil, where some 400 ethanol factories use their own bagasse for electricity generation, and in China and India, which provide incentives for biomass electricity. USA and Canada have fewer but larger biomass plants. In the next five years, Asia is seen to displace Europe as the leading biomass power market globally.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.389)

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