Alvarado Cummings et al. (2025): Comparing GHG Emissions of Residue-Based BECCS to Alternative Biomass Uses
Susan Caroline Alvarado Cummings, Martin Junginger, Steef V. Hanssen, Floor van der Hilst, Anna Sarah Duden, IN: Global Change Biology Bioenergy, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.70089
Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) holds promise for achieving negative greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while generating electricity. When using forestry or agricultural residues as feedstock, BECCS may also avoid or reduce land-use based impacts compared to dedicated energy crops. It is, however, unclear how negative emissions from residue-based BECCS compare to alternative uses (bioenergy with no CCS, 2G ethanol, paper and boards, animal feed and decomposition) and how quickly BECCS can achieve climate benefits compared to these other uses. In this study, the authors used life-cycle assessment (LCA) to quantify supply chain emissions of BECCS for two power plants in the Netherlands, using residue-based wood pellets from Louisiana, USA, and sugarcane bagasse pellets from Louisiana and São Paulo, Brazil, as feedstock.