The EIA currently predicts biomass will account for 2.27% of renewable electricity generation this year, falling to 2.06% in 2025. Biomass accounted for 2.44% of renewable electricity generation in 2023.
Biomass is expected to be used to generate 22 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity this year, falling to 21.6 billion kWh in 2025. Biomass generation was at 21.1 billion kWh last year.
The electric power sector had 2.9 gigawatts (GW) of waste biomass capacity and 2.3 GW of wood biomass capacity in place as of the end of 2023. Those levels of capacity are expected to be maintained throughout 2024 and 2024.
The industrial and commercial sectors had 5.3 GW of wood biomass capacity and 1.4 GW Of waste biomass capacity in place at the end of last year. Those levels of capacity are also expected to remain flat this year and next year.
The electric power sector consumed 0.167 quadrillion Btu (quad) of waste biomass last year, with consumption expected to fall to 0.164 quad this year and 0.161 quad in 2025. The sector also consumed 0.162 quad of wood biomass in 2023, with consumption expected to reach 0.18 quad in 2024 and 0.178 quad in 2025.
The industrial sector is expected to consume 0.159 quad of waste biomass in both 2024 and 2025, down from 0.16 quad in 2023. The sector is also expected to consume 1.327 quad of wood biomass in 2024, increasing to 1.361 quad in 2025, compared to 1.224 quad consumed in 2023.
The commercial sector consumed 0.071 quad of waste biomass and 0.082 quad of wood biomass last year. Those levels of consumption are expected to be maintained this year and next year.
The residential sector consumed 0.45 quad of wood biomass in 2023, with that level of consumption expected to remain flat in 2024 and 2025.
Across all sectors, waste biomass consumption was at 0.398 quad last year and is expected to fall to 0.395 quad this year and 0.39 quad next year. Wood biomass consumption was at 1.918 quad in 2023 and is expected to increase to 2.04 quad in 2024 and 2.071 quad in 2025.
