Oil Economy Focus Rapid Review
Energy can be renewable, sustainable, carbon neutral, or some combination. Where does bioenergy – the heat released from burning wood and other plants – fit in? Trees can eventually grow to replace those that were felled to produce the wood pellets that are burned to produce electricity, making biomass very slowly renewable. The UK is replacing all of its coal-fired plants with new facilities that burn wood pellets, but producing electricity by burning wood now costs more than wind or solar power, making biomass economically viable only with large subsidies. The evidence demonstrates that burning biomass worsens climate change.
LINK TO THE SOURCE ARTICLE: Is burning wood to generate power carbon-neutral?
