Bioenergy

The current installed capacity of bioenergy in Australia amounts to 765MW, or about 7.2 per cent of the total renewable capacity and this has the potential to
increase significantly

Source Australian Bioenergy Roadmap Clean Energy Council, 2008

A biomass resource appraisal forecast that an annual target of around 11,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) each year could be delivered from this technology, equivalent to 1845 MW of installed capacity by 2020. New capacity is currently being commissioned and more plants are in the construction phase, notably in NSW.

Bioenergy has been embraced internationally in many countries. In the US, the sector generates close to 60,000 GWh of electricity, while the European Union is aiming to double bioenergy’s contribution by 2010. Already, bioenergy supplies over 20,000 GWh in Germany, contributes 14 per cent of Finland’s energy needs and delivers 5 per cent in both Sweden and Austria

Source: International Energy Agency (IEA), Renewables Information, 2007