“Biopower - Global Market Size, Feedstock Analysis, Regulations and Investment Analysis to 2020” is the latest report from GlobalData, the industry analysis specialists that offer comprehensive information and understanding of the Market Trends in Global Biopower Industry.

 

The research provides an understanding of the global biopower market and also provides market analysis of the US, Canada, India, Australia, Japan, Belgium, Italy, Germany and the UK biopower markets. The research provides historical and forecast data to 2020 for installed capacity, power generation, installation price and investments. The report also details the installed capacity split by biomass and biogas and feedstock analysis of the major countries active in the global biopower market. The report analyses renewable energy initiatives with policy framework in countries such as the US, Canada, India, Australia, Belgium, Italy, Germany and the UK.

 

Biopower – the Potentially Attractive Option for Clean Power Generation

 

Biopower is one of the most widely-used renewable resources for generating clean power globally. The process utilizes various kinds of feedstock such as agricultural waste, animal waste, energy crops, industrial waste, landfill gas, sewage gas and municipal solid waste. These feedstocks are pre-treated and converted through different processes such as direct combustion, gasification, pyrolysis, anaerobic digestion and aerobic digestion.

 

Governments worldwide are investing heavily in biopower technologies to increase their energy security and reduce their fossil-fuel carbon emissions and pollution. Bioenergy accounts for around 10-11% of the world’s total primary energy supply, most of which is used in the residential sector (for heating and cooking) and is produced locally. It is estimated that around 97% of fuels for biopower are made of solid biomass, 71% of which is used in the residential sector. The regulatory framework and policy structure supporting renewable energy across various regions and countries in the world has led to the significant development of the global biopower industry.

 

Global Cumulative Installations to Reach 145 GW by 2020

 

With the support from various countries governments, the global biopower industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8% during the forecast period of 2010-2020. The biomass percentage contribution is expected to decrease to 86%, whereas the the percentage contribution of biogas is expected to increase 14%. The biopower capacity is expected to increase from about 70,498 megawatts (MW) in 2010 to approximately 145,307 MW by the end of 2020.

 

The US and Germany are Key Countries for the Industry

 

The supportive government policies towards the renewable power generation will be the key catalyst for the global biomass market. The top biopower countries in the world accounts for 50% of the global installed capacity. The US is the market leader in the global biomass market representing nearly 16.5% of the global installed capacity. The country is followed by Germany and Italy, which represent 9.4% and 6.8% of the global installed capacity, respectively. The figure below shows a country-by-country break-up of the global biopower installed capacity for 2010.
 

 

Biopower Generation in Germany in 2010 by Feedstock

In Germany, around 74% of the total biopower generation in 2010 was done by utilizing biogenic solid fuels and other biogas as feedstocks. Biogenic liquid fuels and biogenic waste also contributed more than 20% of the biopower generation in Germany in 2010. Besides these, sewage gas and landfill gas had a combined share of around 5.4% in the country’s biopower generation in 2010