Is Bioenergy Actually Sustainable?
Can bioenergy production and fossil fuel phase-out: is bioenergy production the solution?
An opinion piece
Written by: Beatrice Bos
Edited by: Lalla Masondo
“Bio” energy sounds like it’s sustainable—but is it actually? This article touches on some of the processes behind bioenergy production and its limits as a long-term solution to the energy transition. Solar power, hydropower, windpower, and geothermal power are renewable energy sources that take advantage of naturally-occurring phenomena in order to produce energy. This makes them extremely low-emission compared to producing fossil fuels. However, because they rely on natural phenomena, their viability as energy sources is highly dependent on the natural resources and characteristics that regions have, like water availability or weather. This limits their implementation and creates challenges. Bioenergy is also a renewable energy source, but it works slightly differently. It comes from an input of biomass, which is then processed in order to produce energy, similarly to how fossil fuels are treated (Bioenergy, n.d.). This core difference allows it to be more reliable compared to other energy sources, because the potential of production of energy is tied to the input of biomass, which is something that as humans we can control. This has made bioenergy the most promising renewable energy source, currently accounting for 6% of worldwide energy production and around 55% of renewable energy production (Bioenergy, n.d.). While it has different advantages, it’s important to also acknowledge its setbacks. Could bioenergy really be the driver of the energy transition when implemented on a large scale?
Vecteezy | Generative Ai Free Photo
Because of the core difference compared to other renewables, it’s worth a shot to look into the processes of creating bioenergy and their possible setbacks. There are three main ways to produce bioenergy: through biofuels, municipal waste, and wood (Bioenergy Basics, n.d.). The latter is specifically interesting because it raises questions on the sustainability of using wood as input to energy production. Around the globe, forests absorb around 16 billion metric tonnes of CO2 annually, making them huge carbon sinks (Ruiz, 2024). On top of their role as carbon sinks, forests naturally harness biodiversity. Although they only cover 31% of the surface on land, forests harness 80% of biodiversity: they are essential habitats (United Nations, 2023). Despite forests’ key role in sustaining life on earth and their potential to mitigate climate change, around 2,400 trees are cut down every minute (Osborn, 2025). How can an energy source that relies on this critical resource be sustainable as a prospective solution to the energy demand? While phasing out fossil fuels is essential for a greener future, we cannot neglect to consider the trade-offs of adopting different energy sources.
The consumption of biomass, which constitutes a significant problem for some types of bioenergy, is not all that there is to consider. There is a misleading tendency to call bioenergy an emission-free energy source (Lang C., 2022). From a theoretical standpoint, bioenergy is carbon neutral because “the carbon released during combustion is offset by the carbon absorbed by the growth of new plants, creating a closed-loop carbon cycle” (Directory, 2025); however, that’s not what happens in practice. In the case of the Ngodwana bioenergy plant project in South Africa, the Ngodwana plant had been strategically built next to a paper mill plant to benefit from the scraps used in the plant and create a circular waste management system able to recover energy from the biomass of the mill. However, due to its projected size, the plant cannot run on the scraps alone. In fact, in practice the majority of the woodstock supply must come from timber, pine and eucalyptus plantations in the area—also contributing to deforestation and afforestation challenges as mentioned. Burning at a faster rate than which the trees can be replaced at, the plant would fall into what the study calls a “carbon debt” (Lang C., 2022). The emissions of the energy production then become more than what is accounted for by surrounding forestry carbon sinks and the power plant ends up greatly contributing to CO2 emissions. In fact, several studies demonstrate that bioenergy production is highly-emitting and does not align with the theoretical offset approach: “the immediate carbon emissions associated with burning woody biomass are greater than for burning coal” (Admin, 2021; Gómez et al., 2006).
Emissions from bioenergy plants can be quite problematic from a social point of view as well. Emissions from bioenergy production include “particulate matter…nitrous oxide, sulphur oxide, volatile organic compounds, dioxin and mercury”, on top of CO2. These substances drastically worsen air quality around the plant and expose local habitats to greater levels of pollution and local communities to health risks. This type of energy pollution is especially harmful to vulnerable communities near bioenergy plants. Health risks associated with living close to bioenergy plants include: “elevated risk of respiratory disorders and skin complaints…carcinogen, neurotoxic, and respiratory effects”. The same study also found that working at a plant increased the risk of “ hydrogen sulfide intoxication in case of an accidental leakage of the gas” which “[resulted in] fatalities or severe symptoms among workers” (Admin, 2021). These injustices underline the need to reevaluate the sustainability and viability of bioenergy production as a future solution.
To determine the sustainability of a prospective solution, it is vital to analyze the impact of such a solution on stakeholders. Carbon-neutrality is a target that has been created in order to achieve a more environmentally-friendly and socially-viable planet: if solutions for carbon neutrality work at the expense of these stakeholders, they cannot be considered solutions at all.
Bioenergy production cannot be the only renewable energy source that we rely on to meet global energy demand. Although bioenergy has different benefits, its environmental and social cost outweighs such benefits. We cannot store our hopes for a more sustainable, carbon-neutral future in a solution that can work only at the constant expense of vulnerable communities, the
environment, and ultimately the planet. Simply put, bioenergy alone cannot pave the way to carbon neutrality. On the other hand, it is pivotal to recenter the development of other renewable energy sources. Solarpower, hydropower, windpower and geothermal energy are at the frontlines of the energy transition, and represent a promising path to carbon neutrality. Only by combining bioenergy with less emission-intensive and socially-costly energy sources will it be possible to reach effective carbon-neutrality. Ultimately, bioenergy is not the only solution; however, with the implementation of lesser-impactful renewable energy systems, it can be a part of it.
For more information on the topic, consult:
GeaSphere, Global Forest Coalition, EPN Forests, Climate & Biomass Working Group, & Lang, C. (2022). Ngodwana Biomass Energy Project. In Ngodwana Biomass Energy Project. https://environmentalpaper.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ngodwana-case-study.pdf
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