are reached all-time highs in the installation of equipment and the total installed power. This equipment is used to generate thermal energy of renewable and local origin to, above all, provide industrial heat and supply domestic heating. The year 2021 has set a new record in the installation of biomass equipment in Spain. The year ended with a park of biomass stoves and boilers (pellets, chips, bone, and other biofuels) greater than 512.000 operating units, which has been achieved thanks to the installation of 75.832 new devices during the year. Total installed power also grew to 14.090 MW, thanks to an increase of 1.391 MW compared to 2020.
THE INSTALLATION OF NEW PELLET STOVES AND BOILERS IN THE DOMESTIC SECTOR GREW 40% LAST YEAR
The manufacture, installation and maintenance of equipment of up to 50 kW and the supply of biomass, mainly pellets, in the domestic sector generated a business of 465 million euros in Spain in 2021; 26% more than the previous year. On the other hand, the consumption of domestic heating with biomass creates and maintains direct employment for 7.700 professionals in different activities of the value chain. At the end of 2021, 497.556 pellet stoves and boilers were operating in Spain, 74.655 more than the previous year, which means an increase of 40%, according to data collected by the Association Spanish Biomass in www.observatoriobiomasa.es
In 2021, the domestic sector generated a total of 3,1 terawatt hours of energy in the form of heat, using for this, mainly pellets: 617 million kilograms of wood pellets, an amount that replaced the purchase and burning of 310 million liters of heating oil. In addition, the fact that in 2021 in Spain biomass was used instead of diesel to heat homes contributed to fighting climate change by avoiding the emission of 824.000 tons of CO2, equivalent to the emissions of 550.000 vehicles.
Since 2021, the observatory also provides figures on manual, non-automatic, biomass supply equipment, such as firewood. Sales of wood stoves, fireplaces, kitchens and boilers in 2021 reached 68.076 units in Spain, 24% more than the previous year.
IN 2021, THE INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL SECTOR THAT USES BIOMASS STOPPED CONSUMING THE EQUIVALENT OF 1.634 MILLION LITERS OF DIESEL FOR HEATING
In the industrial and commercial sector, with equipment with power greater than 50 kW, the manufacture, installation and maintenance of boilers together with the production and supply of biomass generated a business of more than 666 million euros, 14% more than the previous year . The industrial consumption of biomass heat creates and maintains direct employment for 5.240 professionals in different activities of the value chain. At the end of 2021, 15.495 boilers, furnaces, air generators and industrial biomass burners were operating in Spain, 1.177 more than the previous year, which means a 28% increase in sales over the previous year.
Thanks to biomass, the industrial sector as a whole generated 16.312 GWh of energy in the form of heat from around five million tons of biomass, mainly wood chips, forest remains, wood pellets and by-products from the agri-food industry such as olive stone, shells, and others. Using these biofuels of sustainable and local origin in the industrial sector avoided the import and burning of the equivalent of 1.634 million liters of heating oil and reduced greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 2,9 million vehicles off the road.
In May 2023, Expobiomasa will have the presence of the leading companies in the sector in stoves, fireplaces and boilers. The next edition has advanced the dates to provide customers and suppliers with equipment delivery times throughout the installation season.
Source: www.observatoriodebiomasa.es