The European Environment Agency has recently
assessed the quantity of the potential European
“environmentally-compatible biomass” and shows
that the potential of environmentally compatible
biomass for producing energy could increase from
the predicted 190 M tones in 2010 to about 295 M
tones in 2030. Considering only the potential of
environmentally-compatible agricultural bioenergy
and excluding the bioenergy potential from forestry and from wastes, the EEA assessed that
around 47 M tones of bioenergy can be derived
from the released agricultural land area in 2010
without creating additional environmental
pressures. This production could increase to
around 95 M tones in 2020 and 144 M tones in
2030 as shown in Figure A. (Bio Fuel Technology
Handbook, WIP 2007)