Biomass Energy Basics

Biomass is an abundant, domestic resource that includes agricultural residues, forestry byproducts, municipal waste, and more.

Biomass has been in use since people first began burning wood to cook food and keep warm. Wood is the nation's largest biomass energy resource. Other sources include food crops, grassy and woody plants, residues from agriculture or forestry, oil-rich algae, and the organic component of municipal and industrial wastes. Even the fumes from landfills (which contain methane, the main component in natural gas) can be used as a biomass energy source.

NREL is developing biorefinery technologies for converting biomass into a range of valuable fuels, chemicals, materials, and products—much like oil refineries and petrochemical plants do.

Bioenergy Technologies

Biofuels

Biofuels are transportation fuels, such as ethanol and biodiesel, created by converting biomass into liquid fuels to meet transportation needs. Learn more about biofuels.

Biopower

Biopower technologies convert biomass fuels into heat and electricity using a range of processes, including burning, bacterial decay, and conversion to gas/liquid fuel.

Bioproducts

In addition to electricity and fuels, biomass can also be converted into chemicals for making plastics and other products that typically are made from petroleum.

Benefits of Biomass

Biomass can provide an array of benefits.

Strengthening Energy Security

Biomass is an abundant, domestic resource that includes that can be sourced from agricultural residues, forestry byproducts, and municipal waste, and more. These waste materials can be turned into valuable products. 

Using biomass to produce transportation fuels also strengthens our nation's energy security and independence. 

Supporting U.S. Agricultural and Forest Product Industry

Biomass energy supports U.S. agricultural and forest-product industries. The main biomass feedstocks for power are paper mill residue, lumber mill scrap, and municipal waste. For biofuels, the most common feedstocks used today are corn grain (for ethanol) and soybeans (for biodiesel).

In the near future—and with NREL-developed technology—agricultural residues such as corn stover (the stalks, leaves, and husks of the plant) and wheat straw will also be used. Long-term plans include growing and using dedicated energy crops, such as fast-growing trees and grasses, and algae. These feedstocks can grow on land that will not support intensive food crops.