Center for Advanced BioEnergy Research, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Friday, July 15, 2011

Unless new sources are developed, Europe faces an acute shortage

PR Newswire

BRUSSELS, July 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Renewable energy policy in Europe will generate an increase in lignocellulosic biomass demand of 44% between 2010 and 2020. The increased use of biomass will be driven principally from the energy sector, but also from the industrial and residential sectors. These are the findings in European Biomass Review, a new study from RISI, the leading information provider for the global forest products industry.

What is the potential to increase regional supply for biomass from forest and other sources and what actions are being taken to release the potential? The key to the future development of European biomass markets resides in the region's supply potential and how well it can mobilize new sources of supply, such as forest residues, agricultural residues and energy crops. Three scenarios for the mobilization of new supply sources by 2020, are included for each region in European Biomass Review. A cost-curve analysis for each region and each scenario illustrates the implications for biomass pricing and imports.

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