Biomass resources in Portugal: Current status and prospects

Portugal relies to a very large extent on imports to meet its energy needs. The predominant energy source is oil, which comes in its entirety from other countries. Renewables now are the second most important energy source being hydropower the most important domestic source of energy. Since more than one third of the territory is forests, biomass is one of the most potential renewable energy sources. This paper presents the scope, potential and technologies related to the use of biomass resources. The study also discusses the biomass projects undertaken by the government and non-government organizations, plans and strategies to promote the biomass. The current status of biomass resources shows that the total potential estimated for various sectors of the country is of 42,489.7 GW h/year. The study also reveals one overexploited biomass resource such as forest biomass (if all the predicted biomass power plants enter into the running phase) and underexploited biomass resources such as municipal solid wastes, waste waters and animal manures. The future prospects for biomass are the embodied in the EU and national strategies for the RES sector, which estimates an average annual growth of 5% for installed capacity and 1% for the power production.