Biomass Energy

Biomass energy is obtained from the combustion of organic plant matter. Many forms of biomass energy are carbon free, or in other words, the carbon has been removed from the pellets or mulch before combustion takes place. Presently biomass energy generation is economical at the fringe of the grid where many farmers are trying to combat salinity issues at the same time as earning back some revenue by growing lines of Malee trees on their farms which are then used for biomass generation. By growing corridoors of mallee trees along saline padocks, the land can be revitaliesed, and resulting mallee stumps can be transported to the nearest fringe of grid biomass generator.

There are other crops which can contribute to energy generation, however often talk of biofuel creates some controvercy. When growing crops such as corn to produce ethoanol for bio fuel this can lead to the displacement of agricultural crops and the additional clearing of rich carbon sink rainforests and other vegetation. Therefore it is important to have a clear distinction between biomass and biofuel and understand how each is produced and the pros and cons of each.

Did you know you can also make your own biomass pellets? This Biomass Pellet Guide shows you how to go about it.

This video give a good introduction and also touches on some of the issues associated with Biomass.

Currently there are small 2MW biomass generators in Western Australia operation on the fringe of the grid. As the price of generation through these smaller generators is more expensive than it's coal equivalent, these generators only become cost effective when the cost of transporting the electricity from a centralised location is significant, and the generation of energy from farmed crops contributes to environmental problems such as salinity in such areas.

Although biomass is unlikely to become a large scale production technique when Australia has so many other renewable energy options, it is still an important player when we talk about decentralising power supply. Further more, fringe of grid energy production will lead to better more reliable energy production in these areas, and decrease the massive infrustructure costs of installing a transmission system required to move energy hundreds of km's away.