Bioenergy contributes 9% of all energy consumed in Spain

Javier Díaz, president of the Spanish Biomass Association , highlights the progress achieved in 2022 by Spain, which has managed to advance the celebration of its Bioenergy Day to November 29, four days earlier than last year : “biomass has increased its contribution to the Spanish energy mix by 1% and already contributes 9% of all the energy we consume, which shows that we continue to consolidate sustained and sustainable growth. The role of bioenergy in the energy transition of our country is fundamental and, especially, when we talk about energy security.”

Bioenergy is a key supplier of renewable energy in the European Union
The EU27 has also brought forward the celebration of European Bioenergy Day this year to 8 November. From October 9, 2022 until the end of the year, renewables will provide 84 days of clean energy, of which bioenergy would take care of 52 days .

In 2021, bioenergy contributed 57% of all renewable energies and 14% of the total energy consumed in the EU27 . In the renewable heating sector, its contribution is even more significant, as it represents more than 90% of the total clean energy used in this area.

And its penetration continues to increase in all the coldest countries and regions, such as the northern and central areas of Spain, through efficient biomass heat networks - which are already close to 500 installations in our country - and due to the extraordinary increase in the installation of pellet stoves, whose market share increased by more than 40% last year in Spain and the park now exceeds 512,000 installed units.

In the EU, the Baltic region is a leader in the development of bioenergy and in enjoying its benefits : Estonia and Latvia have been the first states to celebrate their national bioenergy days (both could be supplied only with bioenergy for almost 5 months ( 144 days each), followed by Sweden and Finland with 140 days each.

From farm to forest: sustainable bioenergy to guarantee energy security
Bioenergy Europe, precursor of the campaign since 2017, encourages each national bioenergy association in the EU to celebrate national bioenergy day in their respective countries with the aim to show the importance of the sector and share knowledge with citizens about the various raw materials used to generate bioenergy and the processes to achieve it.

Thus, this year, the campaign has as its motto “From the farm to the forest: sustainable bioenergy to guarantee energy security” and presents examples in each country, from projects in which agrobiomass or biomethane replaces fossil gas, to innovative initiatives such as urban heat networks with biomass and carbon capture and storage.

Spain presents as a success story the biogas plant managed by Axpo on the Torre Santamaría family farm, Lleida, which transforms the manure generated by its cows and all its agri-food waste into biomethane for direct injection into the gas network.