Tag Archives: bioenergy

Events, Publications

Growing Sustainably with Bioenergy

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IRENA, FAO and IEA agree bioenergy can help meet sustainable development goals

Bioenergy is the most widely used renewable energy source worldwide, and IRENA estimates it could account for half of the renewable energy needed in 2030 to meet climate targets. But to gain the support of the public, expanded use of bioenergy must be socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.

A Round Table at the European Biomass Conference and Exhibition on 13 June 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden, provided an opportunity for IRENA, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the Bioenergy Cooperation Programme of the International Energy Agency (IEA) to set forth a joint briefing paper on Bioenergy for Sustainable Development. The paper points out that bioenergy can help meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for climate change action, food security, sustainable land use, and access to affordable, reliable, modern sustainable energy for all. Continue reading Growing Sustainably with Bioenergy →

Publications

Developing Bankable Woody Biomass Projects

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Bioenergy, renewable energy derived from biological sources, today accounts for as much as three-quarters of total final renewable energy use — making it by far the most widely used renewable energy source worldwide. IRENA estimates that to meet international climate change targets, the share of renewable energy will need to be doubled by 2030, and bioenergy can account for around half of that.

Falling costs and favourable policies have resulted in a dramatic rise in installed generation capacity worldwide, but the deployment of renewables is at times still stalled by projects that do not meet the specific standards required to obtain the necessary financial support. To support the successful development of woody biomass projects, IRENA has launched new technical guidelines on Woody Biomass, as part of its online Project Navigator platform. Just as the utility-scale solar PV guidelines, released last October, the newly released guidelines describe in nine stages what is needed to plan, establish, operate, and decommission a bankable woody biomass project. Continue reading Developing Bankable Woody Biomass Projects →

Energy Transition, Innovation

Simulating Bioenergy Potential

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It is estimated that 1.4 billion hectares of unused arable land is available for cultivating potential bioenergy sources — crops, forests, residues, and livestock. Identifying and figuring out how to utilise this limited amount of space effectively and efficiently, is one challenge hampering the development of bioenergy production. But a shifting urgency to address climate change, and improved data sharing and analysis, means that the barriers holding bioenergy back, are giving way.

A new IRENA online simulator, developed in partnership with the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, and Valbiom gives its users the ability to estimate the potential yields of bioenergy produced anywhere in the world, and is now looking to the public to help it validate its data and make it better. Continue reading Simulating Bioenergy Potential →

COP22, Energy Transition

Coalition for Advancing Low Carbon Fuels Launches at COP22

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A massive scale-up in renewable energy deployment is vital to fully decarbonize the global energy system by 2050, which is required to meet the ambitions of the Paris Agreement and keep global temperature rise to 2 degrees celsius. At the COP22 Climate Change Conference in Marrakech, Morocco, a 20-country coalition launched a new initiative to help decarbonize the transport and industry sectors through modern, sustainable low-carbon biofuels as alternatives to fossil fuels.

The Biofuture Platform aims to contribute to the global fight against climate change, nurturing solutions that can help countries reach their Nationally Determined Contribution, as well as to contribute towards the Sustainable Development Goals. The 20-country coalition comprises of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Netherlands, Morocco, Mozambique, Paraguay, Philippines, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America and Uruguay. Continue reading Coalition for Advancing Low Carbon Fuels Launches at COP22 →