Shelly Kim & Seo-Yeon Choi

• biological renewable energy source from living or dead organisms (ex wood, waste, gas, and alcohol fuels).

• Renewable energy source• From: dead organisms• Power production• Alternative fossil fuel

Socio-cultural

Advantages• More jobs created for bio

mass• Balance employees at

power plant• 66,000 jobs are supported

by biomass

Disadvantages• Farmland -> lands for food

production– Less provision of food to the

world

Environmental

Advantages• Biomass can make

electricity and heat– Can replace fossil fuels

• More efficient than traditional rendering

• Doesn’t contribute to global warming

Disadvantages• Unstable

– Raising of beef cattle– Contributes to global

warming gases in the environment

• Huge amount of animal killing – MORE MEAT to replace fuel

Political

Advantages• Reduction of dependency on

imported oil– Countries don’t have to rely on

foreign bio fuels

• More jobs – 20X more jobs than coal and

oil

• Rural development and income opportunities

• Can create good relationships if exported

Disadvantages• Takes up too much energy

and resources of country• Biomass collection is

difficult and expensive– Politicians may argue whether

it is worth the cost

Overall

Advantages• Less demand on fossil fuel • Cheaper than fossil fuel• More environmentally

friendly

Disadvantages• Burn biofuel: Produces

greenhouse gas• Expensive when building• Higher demand: forcing

mass production of crops -> infertile soil

Graph below shows how capable biomass is as an alternative source of energy

Shows how biomass takes up a lot of land

Graph showing how cheap biomass is

Energy forecasters predict that biomass will generate 4.5% of the kilowatt-hours consumed in the U.S. — more than wind and

solar combined.

As the graph illustrates biomass is expected to remain the second-largest source of renewable electricity generation

(behind hydropower) through 2030. Of all the renewable energy sources, biomass is the fastest growing, going from 11% of the

total in 2007, to more than 41% in 2030.