Biomass is a renewable energy source from living or dead organisms that can be used as an alternative to fossil fuels. It has advantages such as creating more jobs, reducing dependency on imported oil, and being environmentally friendly compared to fossil fuels. However, it also has disadvantages like requiring large amounts of farmland and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. While biomass is currently cheaper than fossil fuels, producing and collecting it can be expensive. Energy forecasts predict that biomass will generate a significant portion of the U.S.'s renewable energy in the coming years, remaining the second largest source behind hydropower.

1. Shelly Kim & Seo-Yeon Choi

2. • biological renewable
energy source from living
or dead organisms (ex
wood, waste, gas, and
alcohol fuels).
• Renewable energy source
• From: dead organisms
• Power production
• Alternative fossil fuel

3. Socio-cultural
Advantages Disadvantages
• More jobs created for bio • Farmland -> lands for food
mass production
• Balance employees at – Less provision of food to the
power plant world
• 66,000 jobs are supported
by biomass

4. Environmental
Advantages Disadvantages
• Biomass can make • Unstable
electricity and heat – Raising of beef cattle
– Can replace fossil fuels – Contributes to global
• More efficient than warming gases in the
environment
traditional rendering
• Huge amount of animal
• Doesn’t contribute to global
killing
warming
– MORE MEAT to replace fuel

5. Political
Advantages Disadvantages
• Reduction of dependency • Takes up too much energy
on imported oil and resources of country
– Countries don’t have to rely
on foreign bio fuels • Biomass collection is
• More jobs difficult and expensive
– 20X more jobs than coal and – Politicians may argue whether
oil it is worth the cost
• Rural development and
income opportunities
• Can create good
relationships if exported

6. Overall
Advantages Disadvantages
• Less demand on fossil fuel • Burn biofuel: Produces
• Cheaper than fossil fuel greenhouse gas
• More environmentally • Expensive when building
friendly • Higher demand: forcing
mass production of crops ->
infertile soil

7. Graph below shows how capable biomass is as an alternative
source of energy

8. Shows how biomass takes up a lot of land

9. Graph showing how cheap biomass is

10. Energy forecasters predict that biomass will generate 4.5% of the
kilowatt-hours consumed in the U.S. — more than wind and
solar combined.

11. As the graph illustrates biomass is expected to remain the
second-largest source of renewable electricity generation
(behind hydropower) through 2030. Of all the renewable energy
sources, biomass is the fastest growing, going from 11% of the
total in 2007, to more than 41% in 2030.