Biomass energy in the United States

Biomass energy made up 5.1% of the energy (and 45% of renewable energy) used in the United States in 2018 and 1.4% of electricity generated in the United States in 2019.

What is biomass energy and how is it used?

• Biomass energy comes from burning or fermenting materials that were recently alive, including algae, wood, food waste, manure, and plants. Biomass can be burned directly to produce heat or electricity, but more commonly in the United States, it is processed to create liquid fuels that can be burned in planes and vehicles. Wood and waste products are often burned directly, while corn and soybeans are often converted into liquid fuels, called biofuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel.

• The construction of new biomass projects stalled after 2013, when supportive policies such as tax incentives changed. But biomass still produces nearly half of the renewable energy used across the country. About half that energy comes from biofuels, with the majority of that from corn-based ethanol.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of biomass energy?

• The cost of biomass energy production varies widely, depending on the type of biomass being sourced, its availability, and associated processing requirements.

• When waste products from agriculture, forestry, and other activities are readily available, the price of generating biomass energy can compete with conventional gas and oil energy generation prices.

• Burning biomass and biofuels releases harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, but carbon dioxide is captured during the original growth of biomass sources. Depending on the energy demands of growing, harvesting, transporting, and processing those sources, this intake and output of carbon dioxide may balance out as “carbon neutral” — although this depends on factors like replanting to replace the harvested biomass, and emissions still affect the planet even if they are balanced out in the long term.

• In countries or localities where burning of biomass occurs, health concerns become relevant as biomass smoke contains particulates that have been linked to cardiovascular problems and premature death.

• Planned and continuous biomass growth can provide a consistent and reliable source of energy — since some forms of biomass can be cultivated, unlike many renewable energy sources.