The future of biomass energy: A Fermi-calculation perspective

William F Pickard

Energy Policy, 2010, vol. 38, issue 4, 1672-1674

Abstract: It is argued: (i) that the harvesting of terrestrial solar radiation to perform useful work is at least an order of magnitude more efficient when carried out by solar-thermal or solar-photovoltaic processes than when carried out by way of biomass conversion and (ii) that, therefore, biomass energy is unlikely to compete successfully with inanimately harvested solar energy--except of course in restricted niche applications.

Keywords: Biomass; Efficiency; Energy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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