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Biomass Energy – Advantages & Disadvantages

Biomass Energy – Advantages & Disadvantages

The advantages and disadvantages of biomass energy are pretty clear, but if you’re new to renewable energy, then it can be a little bit hard to get your head around. In this post, I’m going to break down the key reasons why you may want to make the switch youself.

Advantage of Biomass Energy

  • Money Saved

Because biomass energy is renewable, the fuel that’s used is remarkably low cost. It comes from wastage from other processes, so rather than filling landfills, the wastage is burned to produce energy.

Thanks to the Renewable Heat Incentive here in the UK, both commercial and (soon) domestic properties are able to claim money from the government, for heating their properties with renewable energy sources.

You can find out more about this here, and here.

  • Living off the Grid

If you’re living off the grid, perhaps on a farm, or out in the country, then using biomass to heat your property is a really great solution. Because you use a biomas boiler, and have the fuel delivered to you, you’re completely in control of how much energy you want to use, and don’t need to be connected to the grid to access it.

  • Energy from Waste

Wastage is an abundant source of energy, and it comes in many forms. On an industrial scale, biomass energy is created from the likes of wood, crops, agricultural residue, food waste, and industrial waste, but on a home-sized scale, it’s more likely that you will use variations of wood (pellets, logs, and chips). Rather than simply throwing away these valuable energy source, they can be harnessed.

  • Less Wastage in Landfills

Since biomass hardnesses waste products for fuel, that means that we’re not sending off this wastage to fill landfills, which are filling up and running out in the UK. This all contributes to improving the environment.

  • Much less harmful to the Environment

It’s estimated that a biomass boiler typically saves you around £200 a year in energy bills, and around 8 tonnes of C02 per year. Generating heat accounts for 41% of the UK’s total carbon emissions, and it’s partly because only 1% of heat is currently generated from renewable sources. If everyone made the switch, the environment would be much better off, and we would all have more money in our pockets.

  • Available Globally

Part of the beauty of biomass is that it can be created almost anywhere in the world, unlike wind, solar, and hydro. So long as you have a waste fuel you can burn to produce energy, you’re creating biomass energy.

Sure you’re probably not thinking globally for your domestic installation, but it helps to know that you’re never too far away from a form of biomass fuel for your home.

  • Biomass be converted into many forms of Energy

It’s not just heating that biomass is good for. Biomass can be burnt in it’s current form, or converted into a gas and oil to generate electricity and heat. It can also be converted into liquid fuels and used for transportation. There’s a bus company in Brighton, UK, called the The Big Lemon Bus Company which runs off of biomass fuel.

 

Disadvantages of Biomass Energy

  • Space

A biomass boiler usually takes up more room than a gas boiler, because as well as the boiler, you need a dry place to store the fuel, a self-loading hopper, and a chimney or flute. This is ideal if your property is a new build and you can design it in from beginning, but it can be harder to make work in some older properties with less space.(although many older properties also have outside buildings that can be used for a Biomass Energy installation)

  • The Fuel isn’t Free

It is more expensive than other renewable energy. Yes, it is a lot more reliable source of energy, but the fuel is not free like solar or wind energy. I think that the reliability makes up for this, but it is something to consider.

 

What’s Next?

Does biomass energy sound like something that could work in your commercial or domestic property, and would you like to know more about it? If so, then we would be more than happy to help. Just click here to fill in a contact form, and we will be back to you shortly.

Posted in: Biomass

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