Delivering renewable energy solutions through solid biomass

Bioenergy is a dependable, proven, and widely deployed renewable energy technology. Bioenergy (biomass, biogas, and biofuels) is the leading source of renewable energy in the European Union, accounting for nearly 60 per cent of total renewable energy. When combined with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technologies, bioenergy achieves negative emissions, writes Seán Finan, CEO of IrBEA.

Ireland currently has the lowest deployment of renewable heat in Europe at under 8 per cent, the EU average sits at 24.8 per cent renewable heat, mainly due to solid biomass contributing 20.64 per cent. The scale of the heat decarbonisation challenge is enormous. It is increasingly certain that forestry will be a provider of construction materials in an emerging bioeconomy. The use of forest by-products and residues to produce quality indigenous biomass fuels will play a significant role in displacing imported fossil fuels.

The Wood Fuel Quality Assurance (WFQA) scheme, managed by IrBEA is a key enabler of the solid biomass supply chain in Ireland. Promotion of the WFQA has been supported to date through grant aid provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM). In Ireland, there are nearly 140 fully certified suppliers of wood fuels including firewood, woodchip, pellets, and wood briquettes. WFQA certification satisfies the requirements for biomass under the Support Scheme for Renewable Heat (SSRH) and the Air Pollution Act 1987 (Solid Fuel) Regulations 2022.

In 2024, IrBEA became a national supporting body for the Sustainable Resources Verification Scheme GmbH (SURE), a European certification body which provides sustainability certification services to WFQA members in compliance with the Renewable Energy Directive.

Forest-based biomass is complementary to sustainable forest management where the objective is to produce high quality timber for use in the construction sector as low embodied carbon building materials. Production of sawlog-sized material involves practices such as thinning and the production of smaller size logs that have a number of markets, including for energy use, once existing board mill and other solid wood uses have been satisfied.

An Energy Supply Contract (ESCO) is preferred by many heat users as it takes responsibility for fuelling, operating, and maintaining the biomass heating system with the heat user paying for the units of heat delivered. For heat users, the Support Scheme for Renewable Heat (SSRH) is a 15-year SEAI administered operational support for biomass heating systems. There are several hundred biomass heating systems operating successfully across Ireland. Biomass fuels can readily meet the challenges of domestic, commercial, and industrial energy demand. Large demand and higher temperature heat users such as the food processing and the pharmaceutical sector will be difficult to decarbonise without the widespread use of solid biomass.

In 2024, the Irish Bioenergy Association launched a solid biomass capacity statement which demonstrates the capacity of the solid biomass sector to deliver decarbonised heating solutions using solid biomass.

Biomass systems support indigenous jobs, energy security, and local supply chains through the provision of quality, sustainably certified, and renewable fuels. The Irish Bioenergy Association works on behalf of members to develop the sector. The Wood Fuel Quality Assurance (WFQA) Scheme is a key enabler of solid biomass as a reliable source of renewable energy.

Seán Finan
CEO, Irish Bioenergy Association
E: seanfinan@irbea.org
W: www.irbea.org
W: www.wfqa.org