November 13 marks ‘European Bioenergy Day’ and with it, Bioenergy Europe has launched the fourth edition of the annual European Bioenergy Day campaign. The campaign aims to shed light on the increasingly central role that sustainable bioenergy is playing in Member States’ energy mix. When each national Bioenergy Day is celebrated, a corresponding success story is published for that country highlighting the people, projects, and companies that are contributing to European carbon-neutrality.
Bioenergy is playing an increasingly important role in the European Union’s (EU) energy transition and in supporting its ambitious climate targets. As of November 13, bioenergy alone will be able to cover all the energy needs of the EU Member States until the end of the year – 49 days of energy supplied entirely by bioenergy, an increase of eight days since the launch of the campaign in 2017.
This year’s European Bioenergy Day date confirms past year trends and signifies the growth experienced by the European bioenergy sector as it comes to play a more central role in the renewable energy transition.
While bioenergy continues to steer Europe towards a carbon-neutral free contributing already with 10.3 percent of the gross final energy consumption, Europe remains excessively dependent on fossil fuels (82.5 percent) – with subsidies continuing to head in the wrong direction.
Spreading the projection for Europe’s energy demand across the calendar, Bioenergy Europe sees that the EU continues to rely on fossil and nuclear energy for 282 days in 2020 (January 1 to October 9).
All renewables combined account for 84 days of clean energy (from October 10 onwards) and among these, bioenergy alone contributes to an impressive 49 days (November 13 to December 31).
At the EU level, this accounts for four additional days of renewable energy compared to the previous year. When examining single countries’ figures, a similar positive trend emerges. Countries such as Denmark, Finland, and Sweden have seen a net increase in bioenergy consumption ranging from 3 to almost 5 extra days.
The largest renewable energy source
Contributing to nearly 60 percent of RES gross final energy consumption, bioenergy is a leading source of renewable energy. The bioenergy sector contributes to the creation of more than 700 000 direct and indirect jobs in Europe, representing 49 percent of all RES jobs.
Moreover, with a European-based industry accounting for more than 50 000 businesses across the continent, bioenergy produces an annual turnover of nearly EUR 60.6 million, and net export worth EUR 5 billion, bioenergy makes a substantial contribution to sustainable economic growth.
Considering the challenge that Member States’ face, given the urgent need to develop large scale renewables, combined with energy efficiency in order to meet Europe’s ambitious climate targets, bioenergy can play a pivotal role.
This quantity of bioenergy, Bioenergy Europe says, could meet more than half of the EU’s final energy demand by 2050. But regardless of this, bioenergy remains one of the least know forms of renewable energy and often lies outside of the public’s knowledge.
Bioenergy Europe believes that it is people who are driving bioenergy’s contribution to carbon neutrality. That is why through this year’s success stories, the European Bioenergy Day campaign is highlighting the individuals, companies, and initiatives that are helping Europe to reach its ambitious climate targets through bioenergy – an available, affordable and viable solution.
