Bioenergy is Europe's leading renewable energy source. According to Eurostat data and calculations made by the European Biomass Association (AEBIOM), bioenergy will be able to supply 11% of the final energy consumption in 2017. An additional 7% comes from the other renewables, while the rest (82%) still comes from fossil fuels. Within this context, for 66 days the EU can run on renewable energies, 41 days of which are supplied by bioenergy—from November 21 to the end of the year.
For Belgium, its Bioenergy Day is December 3, and like Spain, its energy demand could be met exclusively with biomass for 28 days. According to ValBiom, the bioenergy association of Wallonia, while bioenergy accounts for 61.3 percent of renewable energy in Europe, this figure is 73 percent for Belgium and over 75 percent for the Wallonia Region.
In Wallonia, woody biomass contributes greatly to these results as it accounts for half, 50.6 percent, of the renewable energy produced. As such, woody biomass along with biogas and other bioenergy energy sources are key in helping Belgium achieve its EU 2020 renewable energy target of 13 percent.
Facts
About European Bioenergy Day
The European Bioenergy Day campaign is powered by the European Biomass Association (AEBIOM) and relayed across Europe by both national and international partners supporting the belief that bioenergy is more than a renewable energy source, but a reliable path that will lead Europe to achieve its renewable energy transition in the shortest span of time. The campaign will last 66 days, starting from November 21 through the end of the year. This is a symbolic date on which the European Bioenergy Day was celebrated by organizing the European Bioenergy Future Conference, that was held in Brussels, Belgium on that date.
