November 8, 2022, marks European Bioenergy Day. Based on the EU 27 energy consumption for 2021 expressed in calendar days, bioenergy would cover all of the EU's energy demands for the remainder of the year – 52 calendar days, from November 8 to December 31 according to calculations by Bioenergy Europe.
When looking at the overall energy mix for 2021, bioenergy makes up 57.4 percent of all renewables and 11.4 percent of the total energy mix, which makes it a significant provider of renewable energy.
Nonetheless, as bioenergy makes up the largest share of all renewables, this means that for much of the year, the EU runs on fossil fuels.
Awareness campaign
Part of Bioenergy Europe’s annual European Bioenergy Day campaign, the primary goal of the campaign is to raise awareness of the sector, sharing knowledge of the various feedstocks used for bioenergy and how the raw material is processed and transformed into bioenergy.
Ultimately, this all underlines the increasingly vital role that sustainable bioenergy plays in the EU energy mix and ongoing energy transition, especially when considering energy security
During the course of the year, each Member State celebrates its own National Bioenergy Day to showcase the day on which the country could begin relying on bioenergy for the rest of the year.
In the context of a National Bioenergy Day, a success story of the corresponding country is published in which the people, projects, companies, and actions that make Europe greener, more sustainable, and less dependent on fossil fuels take the centre stage.
Latvia and Estonia top 2022 ranking
This year, Estonia and Latvia were the first two Member States to celebrate their National Bioenergy Days – both of which could have run only on bioenergy for almost 5 months (144 days each) – followed by Sweden and Finland with 140 days each.
For many Member States, however, there is room to grow, including Ireland and the Netherlands, which will celebrate their National Bioenergy Days later this year in December.
This year’s motto is From Farm to Forest – using sustainable bioenergy to guarantee energy security and showcasing diverse examples, from small, local projects in Romania and Denmark where agro biomass has replaced fossil gas, to new carbon removal technologies in countries like Sweden which supply district heating and permanently store carbon through bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).
Bioenergy is known for its diverse areas of utilization; however, this year many contributors to the campaign are focusing on the role biomass plays in the heating sector.
This is a timely consideration, given the current need for affordable and secure heating.
