Advantages of biomass.The biomass energy is present and future. This type of energy comes from taking advantage of organic matter (substances generated by living beings, animals or waste). It has been growing gradually in Spain and is already a powerful source of energy . The main use that is given to biomass is the generation of heat, especially in industrial processes, although it is also used to heat homes or offices.

Advantages of biomass

Among the main advantages of biomass as an energy source, the following stand out:

• Economical price. When compared to oil or coal, biomass can be considered the most economical. Its cost can be a third of what other raw materials cost.
• Less dependence on fossil fuels. The experts are clear: biomass helps reduce dependence on fossil fuels, most of them being expensive to extract (such as coal) and more polluting. This energy source has great potential in Spain, since there are large amounts of waste that can be used.
• Little polluting. It is a source that hardly pollutes the environment, so it helps to improve air quality and reduce the effects of climate change. Although carbon dioxide (CO2) is emitted into the atmosphere, the emission levels are minimal.
• Source of renewable and very abundant energy. All over the world there is a large amount of wood, waste or organic waste. Therefore, this energy source is renewable, completing a cycle that does not pollute soils and destroy waste of all kinds.
• Create jobs in rural areas. In the villages it helps to maintain the population, since it creates jobs, generating all kinds of activities. It is precisely in these rural areas where there is more waste, either from wood or stubble (forest) such as agricultural waste and animals (farms).
• Cleaning of mountains. Biomass allows forests to be cleaned, thus avoiding degradation and forest fires.
• Very high yield. Some companies still have doubts about this source of energy, since they fear for the yield of the biomass. In recent years, the innovations introduced, some technological ones, have increased the reliability of biomass.
• It allows to eliminate organic and inorganic residues, while giving them a utility.
• It is a renewable energy source.
• It is a non-polluting energy source.
• Reduction of CO ₂ emissions .
• Although for the energy use of this renewable source we have to proceed to a combustion, and the result of it is water and CO ₂ , the amount of this gas that causes the greenhouse effect can be considered to be the same amount that was captured by plants during their growth. That is to say, it does not suppose an increase of this gas to the atmosphere.
• It does not emit sulfur or nitrogenous pollutants, and hardly any solid particles.
• If waste from other activities such as biomass is used, this translates into recycling and waste reduction. Therefore, it channels agricultural food surpluses, allowing the use of set-aside lands.
• Energy crops will replace surplus crops in the food market. That may offer a new opportunity to the agricultural sector.
• It allows the introduction of crops with high rotational value compared to cereal monocultures.
• It can cause an economic increase in rural areas.
• External dependence on fuel supply decreases.