A new report by Baringa on behalf of the Renewable Energy Association (REA) finds that the use of biomass delivers significant benefits to the U.K. energy system. This includes providing up to 5.5 GW of reliable “firm” power to help balance variable renewables, equivalent to approximately 90% of Britain’s total operational nuclear capacity. Keeping this capacity operational is projected to reduce Capacity Market costs in 2028-‘29 by around £900 million, with similar savings anticipated in future years.
Up to 8 GW of generation that is relied upon for periods of low wind are set to be retired by 2030, with only around 1 GW of new firm capacity currently expected to be added to the grid. As renewable deployment accelerates, sustainable biomass will play an important role in reducing the amount of gas generation or new build batteries required to balance the grid, and reducing carbon emissions by around 1 million metric tons per year delivering societal benefits valued at over £250 million each year.
In the U.K., more than two-thirds (68%) of the biomass used for energy production in electricity, heat and transport comes from domestic sources. The U.K. biomass sector contributes around £2 billion in annual economic value, supporting over 34,000 jobs in farming, forestry, processing, transport and logistics, with most of these in rural areas.
Longer-term benefits from biomass include fitting existing facilities with Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) technologies, which could help remove up to 10 million metric tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere by 2035. This would provide 79% of removals required under the Climate Change Committee’s Seventh Carbon Budget, and reduces the degree to which other higher cost or more disruptive actions are required, such as Direct Air Capture or fuel switching in industry.
Retaining biomass generation capacity will be critical as it enables conversion to BECCS from the early 2030s onwards. Analysis suggests that even a one-year delay could increase total costs of meeting climate targets by at least £1.2 billion.
In 2024, biomass and broader bioenergy provided around 14% of the U.K.’s total electricity generation. There are more than 200 biomass combined-heat-and-power (CHP) or power plants operating across the U.K. Biomass also has additional applications in areas such as the decarbonization of high-emissions sectors, including steel and chemical manufacturing, as well as the production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).
Samantha Smith, head of Biomass U.K. at the REA, said, “Sustainable biomass is already playing a vital role for the UK, driving down energy system costs and supporting tens of thousands of jobs in rural areas. As we scale up clean power by 2030 and shift away from reliance on foreign fossil fuels, sustainable biomass generation is only going to be become more essential in delivering energy security and keeping bills lower.
“By backing biomass and investing in greenhouse gas removal technologies such as BECCS on existing facilities, by 2035 we can potentially lock away more than 10 million tonnes of CO2 emissions each year, equivalent to cancelling every flight departing from Heathrow Airport for 17 months.”
