GLAND, Switzerland, May 29 (UPI) -- Renewable biomass fuel could provide 15 percent of the electricity industrialized countries will need by 2020, a European study released Thursday said.
Biomass -- organic material such as manure or woodchips -- currently provides only 1 percent of the industrialized world's energy.
The report said that biomass, a renewable fuel, could replace about 400 power stations, supply 100 million homes and curb carbon dioxide emissions by 1,102 tons (1,000 metric tonnes) per year.
Attaining the 15 percent biomass-fueled target would require less than 2 percent of the land area of industrialized countries and would not conflict with agricultural production or nature conservation.
The report was based on the energy needs of the 30-nation Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which comprises most of Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea and the United States
Biomass production could also create up to 400,000 jobs by 2020, the report said.
Switzerland-based conservation group World Wide Fund for Nature and the Brussels-based European Biomass Industry Association wrote the report.
