Bioenergy — when, where and how?

Abstract

Energy is required for development. A broad variety of energy sources have been discovered and employed during human evolution. Fossil, solar, hydro, wave, wind, geothermal, stream, tides, nuclear biological energy sources provided humanity with 155,505 TWh consumed in 20121. At the same time, energy production and use in the past few centuries has had some impact on the climate, with potential to perhaps alter life on Earth. According to International Energy Agency (IEA): “Energy production and use account for two thirds of the world’s greenhousegas (GHG) emissions... Since the fi rst Conference of the Parties (COP) in 1995, GHG emissions have risen by more than one-quarter and the atmospheric concentration of these gases has increased steadily to 435 parts per million carbon-dioxide equivalent (ppm CO2-eq) in 2012” 2. On the other hand, for the fi rst time in 40 years in 2014, energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) did not change yet the global economy grew by 3% 2. Th e goal for policy markers, scientists and industry is to further develop policies and technologies to reduce the GHG emissions while preserving economic growth. Fossil fuels, not only aff ect climate change but also lead to political insecurity in countries that depend on foreign sources of energy. It is recognized by the governments of most of countries that domestic production of energy is a key factor for political and economic security. Recently, the IEA has proposed a bundle of bridge technologies, i.e. to use energy sources that we already have, to further mitigate the climate impact of our energy systems. Among these is Biomass. Biomass combustion is probably the fi rst energy source humans used. In the 18th and 19th centuries biomass derived biofuels lit streets, warmed houses, and eventually led to the development of the transportation industry3. However, the discovery and commercialization of fossil fuels almost completely displaced biomass from the energy sector for almost a century. Bioenergy, deployed locally, provides an exciting opportunity for energy production in multiple locations in the world. Many concerns about net energy return on investment, intensive land and water use, fertilizers and pesticides use have raised questions with regard to the long-term sustainability of biomass based energy systems. To become sustainable, biomass and bioenergy systems still have a long way to ago in terms of energy effi ciency and good agricultural practices. But these challenges are possible to overcome as new technologies and policies develop. Th e concerns over the biomass sustainability oft en miss the salutary aspect of its local availability. In multiple world locations, up to 60% of food biomass is wasted because of the lack of preservation technologies and markets. In many developing countries, which will drive the energy demand in the coming decades, farmers oft en have land but do not have any access to grid or sophisticated energy generation technologies. Biomass and bioenergy can provide an aff ordable local solution in multiple locations in developing countries that do not have heavy fossil fuels infrastructure. However, the technology challenges to deliver sustainable and effi cient energy from biomass sources still prevent their global use. Th e goal of the Special Issue is to present the current state of the art, cutting edge research and future perspectives on various pathways of biomass use for bioenergy production. Th e issue incorporates papers from the research laboratories, national research centers and companies that contribute daily to the fi eld of bioenergy, by off ering solution to reduce the technological, economical and sustainability barriers of the use of this local energy source. Th e advances presented here and in many other forthcoming work will enable the smooth and effi cient transition to the fossil fuels emission free economy called for by G7 leaders.