The need for oil and gas as sources of energy is one of the great problems facing the Old Continent, especially in those countries that make up the European Union. For a long time, in order to alleviate this energy dependence on fossil fuels, which represent the 99% of net imports from the EU, it is betting on renewable sources, being also cleaner and more respectful with the environment.
A study carried out by the European Biomass Association (Aebiom) shows that Europe could be self-sufficient with renewable energy for 66 days a year, of which 41 of them would be used exclusively biomass, that is, almost two-thirds of it. In this sense, the president of the Spanish Association of Energy Valorization of Biomass (Avebiom), Javier Díaz, says that "bioenergy is the most important source of renewable energy in Europe. It is close to surpassing coal to become the first source of autochthonous energy ».
In Spain for years it has been making a considerable effort. The energy increase of biomass is multiplying exponentially. In less than a decade (between 2008 and 2016) the number of installations has grown from something more than 10.000 to exceed the 200.000, to an average of one thousand thermal megawatts (MWt) every year.
The biomass sector in Spain moves about 3.700 million euros per year, which is 0,34% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with a constant increase for some time. In the last 15 years, biomass has gone from contributing from 3,2 to 6% of primary energy consumed in our country. In 2015, 24.250 generated more direct and indirect jobs, half of them directly related to forest harvesting -in many cases of abandoned forests- and the production of biofuels. These jobs in rural areas also help to combat depopulation.
More info: