On the subject of the power transition, debates about electrical energy manufacturing and intake have a tendency to dominate the political and media scene and overshadow the function of bioenergy. Alternatively, the latter are an integral a part of the rustic’s power program. Their manufacturing will have an ideal affect on each agricultural manufacturing strategies and our consuming conduct.
In power forecasts such because the Nationwide Technique for Low Carbon Emissions (SNBC), negaWatt situations or situations of the Adema Environmental Transition Company… bioenergy is incessantly introduced as an crucial lever for transition, along with the electrification of the power gadget.
As a reminder, those energies, which may also be of various varieties (warmth, electrical energy, gas, and many others.), fluctuate from others of their starting place. They originate from biomass deposits equivalent to picket, vegetation and related residues, waste and natural effluents.
Electrification highlights a lot of political and social controversies in public and media debate. As an example: festival between renewable and nuclear power, shutdown of warmth engines, and many others. Against this, discussions about bioenergy are nonetheless restricted to clinical and educational circles.
Alternatively, their software implies important development. And that each in agricultural manufacturing strategies and in consuming conduct, a minimum of if we would like it to be sustainable.
It’s due to this fact crucial that this matter advantages from higher visibility and larger societal possession in order that coherent public insurance policies can emerge.
Bioenergy, a lever for the power transition
The power transition, which is composed of enormously decreasing using fossil fuels, is central to the combat in opposition to local weather alternate. Till 2050, it’s in response to two pillars:
at the one hand, an building up within the manufacturing of “low-carbon” electrical energy, related to a robust electrification of use, particularly for mobility.
alternatively, an important building up in bioenergy manufacturing to complement the electrical energy provide, particularly for makes use of which are tough to “electrify” (as an example in trade).
Recently, on the nationwide stage, bioenergy represents 150 to 170 terawatt hours (TVh) consistent with yr, or fairly greater than 10% of the overall power fed on. This determine principally refers back to the picket sector, to which the biofuels and biogas sectors are added. Via 2050, power forecasts expect intake of greater than 300% of bioenergy, with sturdy expansion within the biomethane sector (injection of biogas into the fuel community after biomethane purification) and, to a lesser extent, biofuels.
Multi-year power program no. 3 (PPE3), lately below session, items France’s roadmap for its power transition, with quantified goals. For the biomethane sector, the objective is about at 44 TWh/yr by way of 2030, then 80 TWh/yr in 2035, in comparison to present manufacturing of round 12 TWh/yr. Referring to biofuels, PPE3 predicts a slight building up to succeed in 50 TWh/yr within the length 2030-2035.
The will for “sustainable” biomass
Alternatively, optimism about our skill to sustainably develop the biomass had to produce those bioenergies is now not suitable.
Whilst the second one Nationwide Low Carbon Technique (SNBC) predicted the manufacturing of 370 TWh/yr of bioenergy in 2050, the brand new model of SNBC 3 revises this determine to 305 TWh/yr. In Would possibly 2025, a document from the Academy of Agriculture and Era lowered this determine to 250 TVh/yr.
The downward pattern in those figures highlights the mismatch between biomass wishes for the power transition, as lately envisaged, and the manufacturing capability of the present agricultural gadget.
In November 2023, the Common Secretariat for Environmental Making plans introduced a caution, by means of this components reported by way of Le Monde:
“There’s a downside of closure with biomass.
Those problems sparked discussions between the Ministry of Agriculture and Meals Sovereignty and INRAE in regards to the agronomic, technical and financial problems with greater mobilization of more than a few biomass deposits and their transformation into bioenergy. They showed the difficulties in harmonizing the wishes for power transition and manufacturing capacities.
Biomass flows in France
So as to see extra obviously the problems and to be had levers, it will be significant to research the flows of agricultural biomass extra in most cases on the nationwide stage.
About 245 million lots of dry topic (MtDM) are produced every yr for number one (direct) and secondary (oblique) use. Those makes use of are allotted as follows:
Roughly 100-110 MtMS are mobilized for animal feed and in the long run for the manufacturing of meals merchandise equivalent to milk, meat, eggs.
Some 70-80 MtDM/yr is returned without delay to the soil (crop residues, fodder and pasture), to which is added about 30 MtDM/yr of secondary flows principally from cattle within the type of effluents (dust, manure, digestate, and many others.).
About 50-55 MtMS/yr is without delay used for human meals manufacturing (greater than part is exported).
And 9 MtMS/yr is used for power manufacturing (biofuel and biogas) to which is added roughly 9 MtMS/yr of secondary streams originating from cattle and agri-food trade (manure, manure, biowaste, and many others.).
Infographic of present flows of agricultural biomass (in MtMS). SGPE 2024
Via 2050, further wishes for biomass for bioenergy might be between 30 and 60 MtMS/yr.
Dilemmas in assembly those greater wishes
All stakeholders agree that it’s unthinkable to divert usable assets – lately used for human meals – to power use.
Subsequently, it kind of feels tempting to divert the biomass lately returning to the soil. Alternatively, those biomass flows are crucial for soil well being, high quality and fertility. They take part within the combat in opposition to local weather alternate thru their contribution to storing (or proscribing the discharge of) carbon within the soil.
Differently to satisfy those rising wishes could be to extend number one biomass manufacturing throughout the building and harvesting of intermediate vegetation known as “crops of intermediate energy” (CIVE). They’re grown between two major vegetation.
Alternatively, such further biomass manufacturing implies using further assets (vitamins, water, phytosanitary merchandise). It additionally has a tendency to extend the dangers of air pollution switch to the biosphere.
Over the top mobilization of those levers may due to this fact end up counterproductive. Warnings are piling up in this matter. Subsequently, those levers will have to be used sparingly.
Every other trail, conceptualized in numerous transition situations, could be to divert one of the most biomass lately used for cattle feed to power manufacturing.
This could entail decreasing the collection of cattle and increasing cattle farming with a view to maintain the ecosystem products and services supplied, whilst minimizing their biomass intake. This could meet the problem of decreasing greenhouse fuel emissions from agriculture and would due to this fact be essentially the most coherent technique to deal with environmental problems.
This state of affairs, then again, calls for main adjustments in our consuming conduct, with a discount in intake of animal merchandise to steer clear of an building up in imports.
In opposition to coordinated and coherent public insurance policies?
After two years of delays and blockages within the ministries, the nationwide technique for meals, vitamin and local weather, sadly, does no longer appear to be as much as the issue. That is evidenced by way of the absence of a quantified objective of decreasing the intake of animal merchandise, or even the disappearance of the time period relief in the newest variations.
Likewise, contemporary regulations on agricultural orientation and Duplomb make stronger the productivist orientation of agriculture whilst minimizing transition problems. This contradicts (a minimum of partly) the essential orientations for the power transition and SNBC 3, to not point out the antagonism with the nationwide biodiversity technique.
France due to this fact does no longer lack methods, however a common coherence between them. That is what ends up in the discouragement of the ones answerable for the improvement and implementation of public insurance policies and the inadequate give a boost to of electorate for those methods.
Subsequently, there may be an pressing want to broaden a imaginative and prescient and coherent and complementary cross-sectoral public insurance policies that come with power, agriculture, atmosphere, meals and well being.
