Skip to content

News

Bioenergy

Biomass

Research: The burning of wood at heat plants has resulted in climate savings

image
23 November 2020

Danish heating plants’ transition to forest biomass (wood chips and wood pellets) has been beneficial for the climate and the most climate-friendly choice compared to coal and natural gas, concludes a new report from the Department of Earth Science and Nature Management at the University of Copenhagen.

It is the first time researchers are retrospectively examining how the transition to forest biomass has affected 10 Danish CHP plants' emissions of greenhouse gases, and thus how abandoning coal or natural gas in favour of forest biomass has affected the climate.

Related article: One of Denmark's largest plants uses straw  to provide electricity to 62,000 households annually 

They have done this by, among other things, calculating the so-called carbon payback time (CPT) for each plant; i.e. how long does it take before the transition to forest biomass has had a positive effect on the climate.

"Here, our results show that the transition from coal to forest biomass has had a positive effect on CO2 emissions after an average of six years. In most cases, the transition from natural gas has taken between 9 and 22 years in one case 37 years before it resulted in reduced CO2 emissions," said associate professor Niclas Scott Bentsen, Department of Geosciences and Nature Management, who is one of the authors of the report.

[green]In Denmark, the energy supply is responsible for a large part of the greenhouse gas emissions. In 2018, more than 20 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions were a result of the production of heat and electricity (9.4 out of 48 million tonnes CO2).[/green]

 

Reduction in CO2 emissions

The researchers also looked at the total CO2 emissions for the three energy sources over a 30-year period the life expectancy of a CHP plant.

The transition from coal to biomass resulted in a reduction in CO2 emissions of between 15 and 71 per cent, while the conversion from natural gas to biomass reduced emissions between -4 and 19 per cent.

The fact that emissions in a single case were -4 per cent after 30 years - because of the restructuring - is partly a consequence of significant changes to the CHP plant’s product portfolio.

"The large fluctuations in the numbers have to be seen in the light that the carbon payback time, and the size of the saved CO2 emissions, are significantly affected by the type of fuel and where it is collected, and by any alternative uses of the wood," said Niclas Scott Bentsen

Related article: Denmark legislates on sustainable biomass

Residual wood is better for the climate

The 10 Danish CHP plants got 32 per cent of their forest biomass from Danish forests, while 41 per cent came from the Baltic countries, seven per cent from Russia and Belarus and seven per cent from the United States. The type of wood biomass used, and how far it is transported, affects the overall carbon footprint, according to Niclas Scott Bentsen.

"For the typical plant that used coal before but now picks up all its wood in Denmark and only uses residual wood that cannot be used for other products, the carbon payback time was around one year and the 30-year savings were up to 60 per cent, " explained Niclas Scott Bentsen.

Read the report here (in English)

Photo by Alain Duchateau on Unsplash

You should consider reading

Bioenergy
Biomass

News

Living labs

+61

Danish companies obtain the most green patents

16 January 2023
Known to be among the globe's most sustainable, Danish companies are number one in obtaining green patents in both Europe and the US over the past ten years.

News

Job creation and transition

+101

Sound of Green, a podcast series with insights from Denmark’s green transition

27 January 2023
From managing cloudbursts to setting up climate partnerships, we examine how Denmark has turned acute climate challenges into new opportunities. In our podcast series Sound of Green, experts convey how Danish experiences can push the needle toward global green transition. Find it on Spotify, Apple Podcast and stateofgreen.com.

News

Green financing

+101

New Danish models assess the economic and fiscal impacts of climate policies

31 January 2023
Economists from the University of Copenhagen have developed green models to calculate environmental and climate effects on Denmark's entire economy. The models can have a major impact on how we view and measure economic growth and green transition worldwide.

News

Climate partnerships

+29

COP28: New global alliance to advance negative emissions

11 December 2023
It is not enough for all countries to aim for climate neutrality; some must go beyond and become climate-negative. Aimed at achieving this after 2045, Denmark has launched the GONE alliance with like-minded countries.