Debate contribution brought to the Alting on 22 April 2020 by project employee Annika Lund Gade from the Green Transition Denmark

When we talk about the green transformation of Denmark's energy sector, most people will think of wind in particular. But it is wood-based biomass that has been the primary tool in the phasing out of coal, and biomass now makes up over half of Denmark's renewable energy.

Due to the accounting rules for climate accounts, the burning of biomass for energy purposes is counted as CO₂-neutral, because the biomass's significant climate footprint is instead calculated in the country where the biomass is harvested. It could be Denmark. But approximately 40 percent of the biomass comes from abroad, where the guarantee that CO₂- the discharge is recorded correctly, may even be very questionable.

Biomass is a transition fuel that has helped Denmark get rid of coal, but that transition period is coming to an end

There are now real alternatives where the actual CO₂footprint is much lower than for biomass, for example large heat pumps with heat sources such as geothermal heat, surplus heat and waste water.  

Aalborg avoids biomass

One of the last three central coal-fired cogeneration plants is located in Aalborg and is scheduled to phase out coal by 2028. Aalborg has chosen to avoid biomass and instead relies on heat pumps combined with solar heating, geothermal energy and large heat storage.

Aalborg's Environment and Energy Committee has just approved a project proposal for the establishment of a 100 megawatt geothermal plant. Compared to a wood chip-fired biomass boiler, geothermal proved to be socially and corporately better and more climate-friendly – ​​even when the direct emissions of CO₂ when burning wood chips is not taken into account. Had biomass not been tax-exempt, the calculation would have only gotten even better.

Aalborg shows here that the truly renewable alternatives to biomass are technologically mature and economically advantageous. It is really gratifying to see the path that Aalborg Municipality has chosen to take in order to phase out coal and implement a green conversion of their heat supply.

Nordjyllandsværket can phase out coal in 2025

However, we see no technical obstacles to Nordjyllandsværket, like the last, phasing out coal as early as 2025, as recommended by the Climate Council. The state should then contribute to compensating for the financial consequences for Nordjyllandsværket for getting rid of the coal in Denmark three years earlier.

In addition to Nordjyllandsværket, two large central CHP plants are to phase out coal: Esbjergværket in 2023 and Fynsværket in 2025. The current tax regulations are a very important reason why Esbjerg is planning to establish 60 megawatt biomass boilers combined with 50 megawatt heat pumps.

If biomass were deprived of its unfair and competition-distorting advantages, the calculation would look completely different. One could then hope that Esbjerg would instead invest in much more green electricity and heat and only build enough biomass capacity to cope with the peak load for a shorter number of years, until mature technological solutions for this have also been developed, for example large heat storage facilities such as Aalborg aims to be able to build before 2028.

Ambiguity hinders the green transition

In Horsens, the planned expansion of the local biomass-fired heating plant has been put on hold. There is uncertainty about how regulation and taxes for biomass will look like.

Furthermore, we now know that there are good alternative solutions to choose instead. The sooner the politicians at Christiansborg can create clarity about the heat supply, the sooner we can move forward with the green transition.

Regulation of biomass

When it comes to the regulation of biomass, we generally agree with the Climate Council's elaborated recommendations. Taxes must be levied on wood-based biomass – but this should also apply to certified biomass.

There is no biomass which, when burned, is 100 percent CO₂-neutral. And there are currently no criteria for the sustainability of biomass that sufficiently ensure both climate and biodiversity.

The tax must apply to all installations, large and small, including the individual ones (wood-fired, straw stoves), which, in addition, have much higher air pollution than the collective installations.

The cogeneration requirement should be repealed. It does not belong in an increasingly electrified energy sector. The net benefit model should be updated so that it does not favor biomass over other green heating solutions. Sustainable excess heat, i.e. from companies that meet requirements for energy efficiency, should not be taxed.

We must be able to look the rest of the world in the eye

Biomass has done a great job to embellish Denmark's green national accounts, but if we are to be able to look the rest of the world in the eye, biomass must no longer have a competitive tax and regulatory advantage. On the contrary, the green alternatives should now have an advantage.

Many decentralized plants that are phasing out coal now have the technical opportunity to invest in large heat pumps, which will be the most economical and climate-friendly solution. 

We demand political action to slow down the biomass race. Then we will be able to go much further in the green conversion of Denmark's heat supply. And could read many more good stories like the one you can follow in Aalborg.