Portugal’s pulp and paper sector is making record profits despite the current intersecting global crises. Its heavy investments in biomass electricity are a contributing factor, and it now produces almost 80% of the electricity generated from burning biomass in Portugal through its combined heat and power (CHP) and electricity-only power stations, and operates over half of the dedicated biomass electricity capacity.
Underlying the sector’s focus on biomass electricity are generous renewable energy subsidies. This incentive for burning woody biomass has encouraged the pulp and paper sector to decouple biomass burning from relying on by-products of the pulping process as a feedstock. Less than half of the woody biomass burned by the sector comes from bark and other industrial by-products, with the majority being sourced directly from forestry operations.
Read More (PDF)Organization: Biofuelwatch, Quercus, IRIS, Acréscimo, EPN