Prospects for biopower

Electricity may be generated from a range of diverse biologically based feedstocks collectively known as «biomass» and waste materials. Such «biopower» is becoming increasingly important in both the developed as well as the developing nations, providing a viable and environmentally attractive energy source able to compete effectively with more conventional fossil and nuclear fuels in niche markets. Given further development, «biopower» has the potential to provide a significant fraction of the world's power generation needs. This Paper focuses on the use of solid and gaseous «biofuels» (fuels derived from biomass) for power generation. However, biofuels also embrace a range of liquid biomass fuels which, taken together with solids and gases, find outlets into many energy markets