2017 is pivotal for the future of bioenergy in Europe. According to Eurostat data and calculations by the European Biomass Association (AEBIOM), bioenergy will account for 11% of the final energy consumption in the EU-28 this year. For Lithuania, its bioenergy share is double the EU average at 22%. Lithuanian Biomass Energy Association (LITBIOMA) has joined AEBIOM in a campaign to remind policy-makers and the public of the leading role played by bioenergy in Europe's energy transition.
Bioenergy is Europe’s leading renewable energy source. According to Eurostat data and calculations by the European Biomass Association (AEBIOM), bioenergy will account for 11% of the final energy consumption in the EU-28 this year. Other renewable energy sources, like hydropower, wind, solar and geothermal, stand for another 7%. But still, non-renewable energy makes up 82% of the EU’s energy use.
For the EU as a whole, this means that all energy use from November 21 until the end of the year will come from bioenergy, and therefore to mark the occasion AEBIOM will celebrate the European Bioenergy Day on November 21.
Bioenergy – a renewable leader often overlooked
For Lithuania, its Bioenergy Day occurs on October 11, which is the fifth of all the EU Member States as Lithuania’s bioenergy share in the final energy consumption is 22%, double the EU average. Other EU member states with high shares of bioenergy are Sweden (36%), Finland (33%), Latvia (31%), Estonia (27%) and Austria and Romania (both 20%).
The total use of renewable energy in Lithuania was almost 26% in 2015, compared to 18% in the EU. Lithuania is one of eleven Member States that has already achieved its EU 2020 renewable energy target, which was to reach 23% by 2020. District heating is one area that has seen remarkable fuel switch growth.
However, the Lithuanian Strategic Plan for the Renewed National Energy Independence has set an unprecedented national target for 100% transition to renewable energy in the electricity and heat sectors by 2050.
This year Bioenergy day in Lithuania is mentioned more than a month earlier than in Europe. It once again confirms that we are among the leaders of the countries that rely on bioenergy. Not only we support but also dictate the overall European pace of developing biomass energy as a kind of future energy. Currently, Lithuania is rightly considered to be the leader of green energy, as renewable energy resources in the total balance of the country already reach almost 26%, said Virginijus Ramanauskas, President of Lithuanian Biomass Energy Association (LITBIOMA).
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.
