Bioenergy vs. Natural Gas for Production of District Heat in Norway: Climate Implications

Production of district heat is increasing in Norway, and this paper simulates the possibility to use its abundant national resources of forests and/or natural gas as energy carriers. In this study we analyze an idealized future energy scenario and compare the climate impacts from using forest biomass or natural gas as energy sources. Results show that bioenergy is a better energy option than natural gas, mainly thanks to the cooling contributions from the change in surface albedo that can more than offset the warming associated with biogenic CO2.