Updating the input data for essential biogenic energy use paths (BioEm)

The Federal Environment Agency (FEA) commissioned the project to calculate the emissions, resource and land use consumption balances for over 30 bio-energy pathways which reflect the main biomass usage pathways in Germany. This data forms the basis of a further development of emissions balancing for biomass use in Germany. In addition to the derivation of data, a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of the basic methodology was also carried out.

In terms of methodology and background data, the calculation is based as closely as possible on the “typical values” of the relevant EU Commission regulations such as Directive 2009/28/EC and its expected renewal, and on the Commission’s working paper (SWD 2014) on solid and gaseous biomass, and the default values calculated by the JRC (2014). There were only a few instances in which it was deemed appropriate for more applicable data to be used in order to better depict the situation in Germany. The GHG emission factors were supplemented by additional essential air pollutants (NOx, SO2 and others), primary energy and land consumption.

The emission factors presented here represent the first comprehensive data set which complies exactly with the methodology required by EU regulations, and is harmonised with the relevant background data.