What is Bioenergy?

Bioenergy is generated from the conversion of solid, liquid and gaseous products derived from biomass. Biomass is organic material available on a renewable basis, such as wood, agricultural products and waste from local councils and industrial sources. Typical forms of bioenergy are electricity, heat, liquid fuels and chemicals.

Bioenergy delivers a range of economic, social and environmental benefits, including:

• Employment and economic development of rural/agricultural communities: The feedstock used for bioenergy often stems from rural and agricultural activities and can be associated with existing or new manufacturing processes. Development of bioenergy can provide skilled employment opportunities to these regions and stimulate economic development through the delivery of revenue streams outside of traditional sources.
• Energy security: Domestic production of biofuels results in less reliance on imported oil and petroleum products, promoting energy security. Further, electricity and heat produced from bioenergy can often be dispatchable and ramped up and down to support variable renewable energy.
• Utilisation of waste streams: Bioenergy is typically produced from the utilisation of waste materials such as agricultural and animal residues as well as municipal waste. This delivers economic benefit to resources that would generally be considered as end‑of‑life products, and can contribute towards a reduction in landfill and other waste product storage.
• Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions: Sustainable management of biomass and conversion to bioenergy ensures that most carbon emissions produced in the process are re‑absorbed into the feedstock supply chain. This supports a transition to a low‑carbon economy through a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and results in a range of positive environmental and social impacts by alleviating demand for petroleum‑based products.