EU Summer School

As fuel prices skyrocket, personal financial situations and entire economies are threatened. Biomass energy is offered as a possible solution.

Overview of Biomass Energy

Energy can be produced in several ways. We can burn fossil fuels, using sunlight for solar energy, use water for hydroelectric power or even heat from the earth’s core in geothermal energy. An often overlooked source of energy which all others is biomass energy. Indeed, President Bush seems to be very enthusiastic about the subject.

Biomass is biological (natural) material that ever lived, or still life, which can be used to produce energy. For example, grass clippings, dead trees, unused crops, wood chips and other byproducts of wood biomass all. Even harmful to the environment can be considered biomass, as can “landfill gas”, produced when waste decomposes in landfills.

Energy from biomass is produced when these materials are burned as fuel to generate energy. Some of the biomass material is burned to produce steam, which is then used with generators to provide energy and heat. Other biomass materials, such as landfill gas, ethanol (from corn and other crops left) and biodiesel (fuel made from animal fats and vegetable oils residual) can be used for biomass power plant that could power vehicles and even transportation.

While biomass energy should be used as often as possible, as the biomass fuel is available, this form of energy is often overlooked. Biomass energy accounts for only about three percent of the energy used annually in the United States. Some people feel that using biomass for energy is not safe for the environment, or that they do not want to “garbage” burning power plant in their area. In fact, biomass energy is actually very safe for the environment – the only byproduct is carbon dioxide, which comes from burning fuel. Greenhouse gas does have some harmful properties, but not near as many pollutants released by burning fossil fuels.

To see what biomass energy can do for our world, people should be more open to the use of biomass as an energy source. Using discarded and waste can help reduce the amount of waste going into our landfills to reduce, but also reduces our need for fossil fuels. This, in turn, will not only environmental but also the world economy. Biomass energy is an underutilized source of energy that must be fully considered and used in the coming years.