Biomass energy disadvantages

Biomass Energy Disadvantages

Biomass refers to the biological material taken from plants and biodegradable waste and subsequently burned to produce energy. In the United States, around 3.3% of the energy is generated from biomass. Today, the world is keenly looking at biomass energy as an alternative to fossil fuel. While the energy is an alternative to fossil fuel, which is depleting at an alarming rate, there are pros and cons of biomass energy. These biomass advantages and disadvantages need to be weighed carefully before governments invest in this form of energy.

The good news is that biomass energy is renewable source of energy, unlike fossil fuels. But there are still some doubts about it because of the biomass energy cons.

Nonetheless, for countries that do not have their own oil reserves, biomass energy is a blessing, especially since oil is becoming increasingly expensive by the day. In several rural communities, biomass is being used as an energy source for cooking and heating and as technology advances, it is possible that biomass power plants may get popular and bigger in size. The only problem that large biomass power plants face would be procuring the feedstock for the plants and thereafter storing it.

While the advantages of biomass energy are always exalted, biomass energy cons are often neglected. Some of the biomass energy disadvantages are briefly discussed below.

Biomass Energy Cons

Pollution

When biomass is burned, it releases emissions into the air. The type of emissions depends on the type of biomass fuel and technology used. Normally, emissions, such as carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the air when wood is used to generate biomass energy. The carbon dioxide emission aggravates the already existing problem of global problem.

Land Usage

The land used to cultivate biomass crops can be used to grow food crops. Today, hunger is a problem in several countries. Feeding hungry citizens is a priority for most country and thus, the land can be put to better use.

Expensive Technology

As the technology used to make biomass energy is relatively new, it is still quite expensive to produce this form of energy. Hopefully, in the near further with technological advancements and more research a cost-effective and efficient method would be found to generate biomass energy.

Limited Potential

It is not possible at the present moment to scale up the production of biomass energy. So, the amount of energy generated is quite low when compared to other alternative forms of energy, such as solar energy or hydro energy.