The use of biomass heating increases by 23%, reaching a new record

Almost 245,000 heating installations were powered by biomass at the end of the 2017 financial year, according to data provided by the Biomass Observatory managed by the Spanish Association for the Energy Recovery of Biomass, Avebiom. A figure that represents an increase of 23.15% compared to the previous year, 46,027 more installations, thanks mainly to the significant increase in pellet stoves, which has reached a new record.

According to the Biomass Observatory, the use of biomass as a heating fuel has multiplied by 25 in the last decade, since in 2008 there were less than 9,600 operational facilities in the country. Although the greatest growth has been recorded in the last three years, in which the number of equipment has practically doubled, going from the 127,995 facilities that operated at the end of 2014 to the 244,197 registered at the end of 2017.

Javier Díaz, president of Avebiom, believes that “among the factors that have intervened in the consolidation of this trend, it is worth highlighting its environmental importance, the contribution to the maintenance of rural employment – ​​and therefore, to the revitalization of local economies – and, above all, the significant economic savings it represents for families, companies and administrations.”

The greatest increase in biomass heating installations has been driven by the increase in the sale of pellet stoves, which in 2017 alone rose to 42,728 units. This figure, which represents a new sales record in Spain, represents an increase of 19% compared to those registered in 2016.

The sale of boilers grows again
In general, the installation of biomass boilers in 2017 has increased by 8.7%. After a 2016 year of lower sales, the installation of boilers of less than 50kW has grown again and has increased by 9.5%. And the installation of biomass boilers with a power equal to or greater than 50 kW, common in industrial and collective facilities, has increased by 7%.

This improvement has allowed the biomass boiler park to reach 15,755 installations at the end of 2017 with a power of less than 50 kW; 10,536, with a power between 50 and 1000 kW; and 830 boilers with more than 1MW of power.

In terms of installed power, in 2017 it increased by 1,106 MW of biomass including stoves, boilers and other equipment, a figure that confirms the trend of annual growth above one thousand megawatts during the last four years. Installed power has multiplied by five in the last ten years, going from 1,510 MW in 2008 to 9,404 MW registered at the end of 2017.

By autonomous communities, the ranking is led by Andalusia, Castilla y León and Catalonia, which exceed one thousand installed megawatts.

This level of installed power is allowing the generation of a considerable amount of thermal energy, which is estimated at 1,510.1 kTEP, equivalent to a lower consumption of 1,760 million liters of heating oil.

And this means, therefore, a lower emission of greenhouse gases, which is estimated at 4.67 million tons of CO2, thus contributing to the fight against climate change by avoiding the pollution produced by 3.1 million vehicles during one year.