Biomass – A Green Energy Source For Today and the Future

Experts say biomass or ‘bioenergy’ is in fact one of the main green energy sources being considered for mass implementation.

The question is…what in the world is bioenergy?

It’s kind of like something out of a sci-fi movie, it is a process by which lots of yummy organic material such as animal waste, plants and wood are used to generate electricity, produce heat and also aid in the production of bio fuels.

With biomass, hot air or water is generated to produce electricity. This is done through direct combustion and yet this is considered the simplest way of generating energy from biomass, it is also considered the most common method of generating energy from biomass.

Not only can biomass be used to generate electricity, biomass can be used for hot air production. This means it could be used as a new renewable and slightly greener method of heating your home or office. To do so, the biomass must be combusted in a furnace where it heats the air being fed into your home/office. Biomass could also be used as a more efficient water heater, simply by using the same method of heating the air. The best part is…we already know that biomass can be used in a small scale heating system. (so keep your eyes out for them)

Some people have been combining the heat producing features and the electric producing features of biomass to generate the both of them, which is commonly called ‘CHP’ (or Combined Heat and Power). This is something that most people consider to be one of the best features of biomass, is it’s ability to be efficient enough to serve multiple purposes.

It is a fact that if you compare the electricity produced by biomass and solar sources, biomass will always produce more. Why? Because solar panels take in energy from the sun and send it somewhere to be stored or used. But the plants and organic materials used to create biomass have been taking in and storing energy from the sun within them. Meaning that biomass is just a big mass of sun energy…almost in a concentrated form.

You don’t have to collect it first which is what happens with solar or even wind energy since this is manufactured technology. It is readily available unlike the other two which is totally dependent on the weather.

With using biomass extensively, the dependence on foreign oil and the cost to dispose of waste will no longer be a problem. Think of the ‘REAL’ freedoms this could create for many countries. Including North America!

There is one real downside to bioenergy…you have to burn waste and other organic materials to produce power. This adds to the pollution which is already in the atmosphere and that causes concerns among many scientists and eco watch dogs everywhere. Luckily for bioenergy…the future is bright, clean, green, renewable, and realistic. Thanks to someone stating the obvious…plants work to scrub the carbon dioxide from our air, thus reducing the pollution in our atmosphere. If we use biomass/bioenergy we can plant more crops and other green organic life, which will do just that…and a good idea has risen, prep and use the land that once produced oil and grow the green material need to produce biomass/bioenergy!

Biomass uses renewable natural resources which is why it is considered green energy and we have an endless supply of it everywhere we look. Just like the power we consume from the sun or the wind, they are all renewed naturally and independently.

We have the green technology to generate power without causing harm to our environment…we just need to muster the willingness to take the next step and make it happen.