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.