Biomass is currently expected to account for 2.25% of renewable electricity generation in 2024, falling to 2.04% in 2025. Biomass accounted for 2.44% of renewable electricity generation last year.
According to the EIA, biomass is expected to be used to generate 21.7 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity this year, falling to 21.5 billion kWh in 2025. Biomass generation was at 21.1 billion kWh in 2023.
The electric power sector had approximately 2.9 gigawatts (GW) of waste biomass capacity and 2.3 GW of wood biomass capacity in place at the end of last year. Those levels of capacity are expected to be maintained throughout this year and next year.
The industrial and commercial sectors had 5.2 GW of wood biomass capacity in place last year, with capacity expected to increase to 5.3 GW and remain that that level in 2025. The sector also had 1.4 GW of waste biomass capacity in place at the end of 2023, with that level of capacity expected to be maintained in 2024 and 2025.
The electric power sector consumed 0.167 quadrillion Btu (quad) of waste biomass last year, with consumption expected to fall to 0.165 quad this year and 0.162 quad next year. The sector is consumed 0.162 quad of wood biomass in 2023, with consumption expected to reach 0.175 quad in both 2024 and 2025.
The industrial sector consumed 0.16 quad of waste biomass last year. Consumption is expected to remain at that level this year and next year. The sector also consumed 1.224 quad of wood biomass in 2023, with consumption expected to reach 1.322 quad in 2024 and 1.368 quad in 2025.
The commercial sector consumed 0.071 quad of waste biomass and 0.082 quad of wood biomass in 2023. Those levels of consumption are expected to remain consistent in 2024 and 2025.
The residential sector is expected to consume 0.446 quad of wood biomass in both 2024 and 2025, down from 0.45 quad in 2023.
Across all sectors, waste biomass consumption was at 0.398 in 2023 and is expected to fall to 0.396 quad this year and 0.393 quad next year. Wood biomass consumption was at 1.918 quad in 2023 and is expected to increase to 2.024 quad in 2024 and 2.071 quad in 2025.
