Greta Jimenez
Biomass energy is often regarded as a clean alternative power source to fossil fuels. However, the process of burning wood and other biological materials for energy emits significant amounts of pollution, including particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and hazardous air pollutants. The impact of biomass power plants on the environment and human health is a growing concern, with evidence suggesting that burning biomass may contribute to air pollution, climate change, deforestation, and health issues such as asthma and heart disease. While some argue that biomass is carbon-neutral due to the carbon dioxide (CO2) captured by the source plants, the overall environmental impact of biomass energy is complex and subject to ongoing debate.
Do biomass power plants pollute?
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Pollution control | Most biomass plants do not use the most effective pollution controls. |
| Emissions | Biomass plants emit particulates, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hazardous air pollutants, and fine particle emissions. |
| Health impact | Asthma, heart disease, diabetes, hospitalizations for heart attack and respiratory disease, birth defects, neurodegenerative diseases, and death. |
| Climate change | Burning biomass releases climate-warming pollution and greenhouse gases, contributing to climate change. |
| Deforestation | Biomass energy involves cutting down trees, degrading forests, and eliminating natural lands that serve as carbon sinks. |
| Environmental justice | Biomass plants are often located near disadvantaged communities of color, continuing a history of environmental injustice and racism. |
| Regulatory action | Some states and communities are pushing back against biomass plants, revoking permits, and removing incentives for renewable energy credits. |
| Alternative approaches | Alternatives to biomass energy, such as committing to other renewable energy sources, can lead to a healthier energy system. |
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What You'll Learn
Biomass energy is not a clean alternative power source
Despite being promoted as a clean alternative power source, biomass energy is not a clean source of energy. Biomass energy is the process of cutting down trees, turning them into wood pellets, and then burning them for power. The biomass industry claims this process is clean, but in reality, burning forests for electricity releases more climate-warming pollution than burning coal, all while degrading Southern forests and harming nearby communities.
Biomass energy has an outsized impact on the South, which is home to dozens of wood pellet plants. These facilities turn trees into wood pellets, which are then shipped overseas to countries in Europe and Asia, where they are burned for power. The biomass energy industry is propped up by millions of dollars in subsidies from the United Kingdom and European Union. However, leaders in those countries are now realizing that the biomass industry is not clean or sustainable and that it is actually making climate change worse.
Biomass combustion is a major source of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Burning biomass can cause asthma, hospitalizations for heart attack and respiratory disease, birth defects, neurodegenerative diseases, and death, among other health impacts. Biomass plants emit tens to hundreds of tons of particulates, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and hazardous air pollutants each year. Fine particle emissions arise from both direct ash emissions from combustion at energy plants and emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ammonia, and volatile organic compounds.
The amount of particulate matter emitted from a biomass burner is highly sensitive to small differences in control efficiency. Even with the best pollution controls, it is virtually impossible (and not cost-effective) to remove all contaminated wood. Even one or two percent of contaminated wood can lead to significant emissions of metals when burned.
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Burning biomass releases harmful pollutants
Despite biomass energy being considered a "'clean' alternative power source, it still creates long-lasting impacts on the environment that can be as harmful as fossil fuels. Burning biomass releases harmful pollutants, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter, which can have severe health impacts, from asthma to heart disease and even diabetes.
The biomass industry claims that its process of cutting down trees, turning them into wood pellets, and burning them for power is a clean source of energy. However, burning forests for electricity releases more climate-warming pollution than burning coal, degrading forests, and harming nearby communities. The process of burning biomass releases various pollutants, including carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. While the source plants for biomass capture almost as much carbon dioxide through photosynthesis, making biomass a carbon-neutral energy source, the burning process still releases harmful pollutants into the atmosphere.
The amount of particulate matter emitted from a biomass burner is highly sensitive to small differences in control efficiency. Even with proper controls in place, biomass burners can still emit hazardous air pollutants, including nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. Small-scale biomass burners, like those installed in schools, typically have minimal controls, further exacerbating the problem. The burning of biomass also releases fine particle emissions, such as ash, and emissions of sulfur dioxide, ammonia, and volatile organic compounds, which can have severe health and environmental impacts.
In addition to the immediate release of pollutants, burning biomass also contributes to the worsening of the climate crisis. Biomass energy companies are taking advantage of renewable power initiatives, despite their negative environmental impact. The logging required to feed wood pellet facilities has a devastating impact on forests, which serve as critical carbon sinks. By cutting down trees and burning them for power, we not only release stored carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere but also lose a natural solution to combat climate change.
The impact of biomass burning is not limited to the immediate area but has global repercussions. Biomass burning contributes to severe air pollution, releasing large quantities of gaseous pollutants and aerosol particles into the atmosphere, affecting air quality, human health, and climate change. China, for example, is a major emitter of biomass burning emissions, with wood and crop residue accounting for nearly 90% of its total emissions. The burning of agricultural waste and forest fires further contribute to the aggregate emissions, with forest fires increasing due to global warming and climate change, creating a negative cycle that decreases the quality of the global environment and human health.
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Biomass plants are often located in disadvantaged communities
Despite biomass energy being touted as a "clean" alternative power source, it is a major source of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Biomass energy is the process of cutting down trees, turning them into wood pellets, and then burning them for power. The biomass industry claims this process is clean, but burning forests for electricity releases more climate-warming pollution than burning coal, while also degrading forests and harming nearby communities.
A survey by SELC found that two-thirds of people living within half a mile of pellet mills experience dust every day. In four out of five communities surveyed, 86% of households reported at least one family member with a disease associated with or made worse by pellet mill pollution. People living near biomass plants also have to deal with constant noise and increased truck traffic, which can negatively impact their health and quality of life.
The biomass energy industry has received millions of dollars in subsidies from the UK and EU. However, leaders in those countries are now realising that the industry is not clean or sustainable and is worsening climate change. As a result, European leaders are rethinking their decisions to support biomass companies.
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Biomass energy companies contribute to deforestation
Despite being promoted as a clean alternative power source, biomass energy has a significant environmental impact, including contributing to deforestation. Biomass energy is the process of cutting down trees, turning them into wood pellets, and burning them for power. This process releases more climate-warming pollution than burning coal, degrading forests and harming nearby communities.
Biomass energy companies, such as Enviva, the world's largest biomass producer, have been accused of contributing to deforestation by sourcing wood from clear-cut forests. In addition to the direct impact on forests, the burning of wood pellets by biomass power plants results in increased carbon emissions, further exacerbating climate change.
The demand for wood pellets is driving the conversion of native tropical forests into short-rotation plantations, particularly in Southeast Asia. This ongoing deforestation is a significant driver of biodiversity loss and is projected to triple the supply of forest biomass for energy by 2030. The biomass industry's wood sourcing practices are unsustainable and have led to forest degradation, even as scientists have warned of the harm to the climate and the need to cut emissions.
While some governments, such as South Korea and Japan, have taken steps to reduce subsidies for biomass and recognize the associated carbon emissions and deforestation, other countries like the UK continue to offer millions in subsidies to biomass power plants. This has led to accusations of "greenwashing," with industry-dominated certification schemes providing cover for environmentally destructive practices.
The impact of biomass energy on deforestation is a global issue, with forests in North America, Southeast Asia, and South America all being affected. The burning of biomass releases greenhouse gases and other pollutants, worsening the climate crisis and impacting the health of nearby communities.
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Burning biomass is bad for human health
Biomass combustion is hazardous to human health, increasing air pollution and pollution-related diseases. It also creates climate-damaging greenhouse gases at a time when scientists are urging us to slash emissions. Burning woody biomass emits more carbon pollution than coal, the most polluting fossil fuel. Per unit of energy produced, biomass carbon emissions are 45% higher than coal and 2-3 times higher than natural gas.
Biomass burning is a major source of air pollution, including particulate matter (PM 2.5), nitrogen oxide, various carcinogens, and carbon monoxide. PM 2.5 pollution is linked to a range of serious health conditions, including increased rates of lung disease, heart disease, cancer, pregnancy complications, and premature death. In Oslo, Norway, PM 2.5 pollution from residential wood burning was estimated to cause 232 premature deaths per year. Air pollution kills between 100,000-200,000 people in the United States annually, with a disproportionate number in low-income and minority communities.
Biomass burning also contributes to climate change, which has its own set of human health threats, such as heat-related illnesses and deaths, vector-borne diseases, food insecurity, and worsened allergy seasons. Additionally, biomass plants are often sited near communities of color that are already burdened by industrial pollution, perpetuating environmental injustice and racism.
Furthermore, biomass burning in buildings, industry, and power plants leads to more deaths than conventional coal-fired power plants. It exacerbates asthma attacks, causes headaches, nausea, dizziness, and is linked to reproductive and central nervous system harm. Overall, burning biomass has significant public health and environmental justice consequences, and it should not be incentivized as a "clean" or "renewable" fuel.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, biomass power plants do pollute. The burning of biomass releases harmful pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter.
The use of biomass for energy has negative effects on the environment, such as contributing to climate change, deforestation, and the degradation of natural habitats.
Yes, biomass power plants can have negative health consequences for nearby communities. The pollution from biomass combustion can cause asthma, heart attacks, respiratory disease, birth defects, neurodegenerative diseases, and even death.
Biomass power plants contribute to climate change by releasing greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide, when biomass is burned.
Biomass and biofuels are alternative energy sources to fossil fuels. The plants used as source material for biomass capture CO2 through photosynthesis, making biomass a potentially carbon-neutral energy source. However, the burning of biomass can still release harmful pollutants and contribute to climate change.
