Biomass is the collective term for all the organic substance
which is formed by plant photosynthesis with the sun as an energy
source.
In
Denmark, biomass currently accounts for approximately 70% of
renewable-energy consumption, mostly in the form of straw, wood and
renewable wastes, while biogas accounts for less. Consumption of
biomass for energy production in Denmark more than quadrupled
between 1980 and 2005.
A further increase is expected from 103 PJ in 2006. This
expectation is primarily due to the policy agreement (the Biomass
Agreement) from 1993 and the policy agreement from February 2008 on
the increased use of straw and chips at the large co-generation
plants. At the same time, the consumption of biomass continues to
rise as a source of energy for the supply of heat in
district-heating plants and in smaller installations for
households, enterprises and institutions.
Biomass is a generic term describing all organic material resulting
from plant photosynthesis using the sun as energy source. Biomass
in the form of wood was humankind's first source of energy for
light, heat and food preparation and biomass (also called
bioenergy) is still one of the major forms of renewable energy.
Global consumption of biomass for energy is estimated to amount to
approximately 50,000 PJ/year. This corresponds to approximately 12%
of total global energy consumption or approximately 80% of the
global supply of renewable energy, since wind power generates
approximately 10,000 PJ/year while other forms of renewable energy
currently only reach a total of 2-3000 PJ/year.