Bioenergy leads growth of renewable energy sector

Renewable energy is expected to continue expansion in the next five years to account for two-fifths of global energy consumption growth, with the modern bioenergy segment showing the biggest improvement.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its Renewables 2018 report that half of all renewable energy consumption in 2017 came from modern bioenergy.

Modern bioenergy—as opposed to traditional bioenergy which refers to the burning of biomass like wood, animal waste and charcoal—refers to the use of technologies such as liquid biofuels produced from plant-based waste and biogas produced from the oxygen-free digestion of residues.

According to IEA, bioenergy was still the largest source of renewable energy because of its widespread use in heat and transport sectors, in which other renewables like solar photovoltaic and wind play a much smaller role.

“Modern bioenergy is the overlooked giant of the renewable energy field,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol said in a statement.

“Its share in the world’s total renewables consumption is about 50 percent today, in other words as much as hydro, wind, solar and all other renewables combined,” Birol said.

He said modern bioenergy was expected to continue to lead the field, and has huge prospects for further growth.

“But the right policies and rigorous sustainability regulations will be essential to meet its full potential,” he added.

Also, IEA said the untapped potential of bioenergy in cement, sugar and ethanol industries was also significant.

In the Philippines where ethanol is added to gasoline to produce cleaner fuel, ethanol producers are pushing the creation of an energy research institute to help enable the bioethanol industry to cope with advancements in technology.

The Center for Alcohol Research and Development Foundation (CARD) earlier this month expressed strong support for Senate Bill No. 1574 which proposes to create the Philippine Energy Research and Policy Institute (PERPI) sponsored by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian.

CARD counts among its members major industry players including Absolut Distillers Inc. (Lucio Tan group), Roxas Holdings Inc., Universal Robina Corp., Balayan Distillery, Ginebra San Miguel and VMCI Distillery.

“The more data we get from the situation that abounds right now in the Philippines, the more we will be able to prosper as an industry,” CARD chair Gerardo Tee said. “I hope that the effect of bioethanol on the environment is also taken into consideration because we don’t have good data on that.” —RONNEL W. DOMINGO