Report finds biomass fuel the answer to dwindling oil

Industrialised countries could dispense with 400 power stations if they used the full potential of clean biomass energy from farms and forests, according to a new report.
Harnessing biomass sources could power 100 mm homes, providing 15 % of the industrialised world's energy needs by 2020, compared with just 1 % now, the report said.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and European Biomass Industry Association (AEBIOM) said this would reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by about 1,000 mm tpy. That is equivalent to the combined annual emissions of Canada and Italy, according to the lobby groups.
"Decision-makers have overlooked the potential of biomass to deliver sustainable energy for the future," Giulio Volpi of WWF's Climate Change Program said. "The big advantage that biomass offers over other renewable energy sources such as wind and solar is that it can be stored and used when needed. It can provide a constant, non-fluctuating supply of electricity."

The reportsaid biomass -- defined as all organic matter of vegetable and animal origin -- should be seen as the energy of the future as it comes from renewable and dependable sources.
Woodchips to sewage sludge, municipal waste to vegetable oil should be harnessed also to safeguard the world's security of energy supply -- an issue on the front-burner now after oil prices rocketed to record highs.

Just 2 % of land in the industrialised world would have to be set aside for biomass production, ensuring the needs of food production and nature conservation would not come into conflict, the WWF-AEBIOM report said.
The report was based on the energy needs of the 30-nation Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which comprises most of Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea and the United States.