The currently useable potential of biomass in Germany consists largely of wood (156 billion kilowatt hours per year), followed by plant matter (8 to 53 billion), other waste (40 billion) and energy crops (24 to 28 billion). Of the various forms of converting and using biomass, electricity and heating production is the most effective from a cost viewpoint. More than 90 % of solid biomass is used today in systems for heat production. Heating systems and fuels have been developed in recent years, above all in the household sector, which are environmentally safe and user friendly, in particular in the low output area. This especially applies to pellet furnaces which have recorded huge growth in Germany in recent years. The most efficient means of using biomass is from plants that generate both electricity and heating; for this reason, electricity-heating combinations are playing a decisive role in the development of bioenergy.
Germany: Biomass - Renaissance of an Energy Source
The conversion processes of biomass into gaseous energy carriers are also ascribed a central position for the future use of bioenergy. This includes anaerobic fermentation, which has already reached a high technology standard, but also applies to the gasification of solid fuels (wood) which, however, are still in great need of development. At the moment, biogas is used primarily in electricity production, while the potentials in the heating and fuel sector have been scarcely tapped. New perspectives will open up here in the future. In broad principle, de-sulphurized and purified biogas (SNG) can be used in a similarly versatile way as natural gas. According to estimates, biogas could replace more than 10 % of natural gas sales in Germany by the year 2030.
Compared to the use of biomass for the production of electricity and heating, the current production of biofuels in Germany involves much work and is expensive. On top of this, biodiesel and bioethanol are homogeneous, readily transportable products which can be produced far more cost effectively on the southern half of the globe than in Germany. Domestic production is still protected by customs and duties and /or technical regulations which put imported raw materials and fuels at a disadvantage. A point to note, however, is that this protection will probably come under considerable political pressure as global agricultural trade becomes more liberalized; the protection might be softened gradually or even be scrapped in the long term. This will exert price pressure on German energy commodities (and on biofuels) and boost imports (of biofuels). At the same time, sales from domestic production will contract. Against this backcloth, we see a risk of overcapacities building up in the area of biodiesel and bioethanol. However, additional potential for the more efficient use of biofuels will come about in the longer term from the introduction of new technologies (ethanol from lignocellulose, Biomass-to-Liquids, biogas); these fuels can draw on a far broader commodity basis and the entire plant as well as the waste and leftover matter can be processed.