Architecture
Global Energy Monitor’s Global Bioenergy Power Tracker uses a two-level system for organizing information, consisting of both a database and wiki pages with further information. The database tracks individual bioenergy power units and includes information such as project owner, status, and location. A wiki page for each facility is created within the Global Energy Monitor wiki. The database and wiki pages are updated annually.
Inclusion Criteria
The Global Bioenergy Power Tracker tracks utility-scale bioenergy power station units with capacities of 30 megawatts (MW) or more globally. The tracker includes every bioenergy unit at the 30 MW capacity threshold for operating, announced, pre-construction and in-construction units located at facilities that do not burn or co-fire with non-bioenergy sources.
Status Categories
Announced: Proposed projects that have been described in corporate or government plans but have not yet taken concrete steps such as applying for permits.
Pre-construction: Projects that are actively moving forward in seeking governmental approvals, land rights, or financing.
Construction: Site preparation and equipment installation are underway.
Operating: The project has been formally commissioned; commercial operation has begun.
Shelved: Suspension of operation has been announced, or no progress has been observed for at least two years.
Cancelled: A cancellation announcement has been made, or no progress has been observed for at least four years.
Retired: The project has been decommissioned.
Mothballed: The project is disused, but not dismantled.
Research Process
The Global Bioenergy Power Tracker data set draws on various public data sources, including:
- Government data on individual bioenergy power facilities (such as the U.S. EIA 860 Electric Generator Inventory), country energy and resource plans, and government websites tracking bioenergy power facility permits and applications;
- Reports by power companies (both state-owned and private);
- News and media reports;
- Local non-governmental organizations tracking bioenergy power facilities or permits.
A partial list of data sources can be found here.
Global Energy Monitor researchers perform data validation by comparing our dataset against proprietary and public data such as S&P Global’s World Energy Power Plant database and the World Resource Institute’s Global Power Plant Database, as well as various company and government sources.
Wiki Pages
For each bioenergy power station, a wiki page is created on Global Energy Monitor’s wiki. Under standard wiki convention, all information is linked to a publicly-accessible published reference, such as a news article, company or government report, or a regulatory permit. In order to ensure data integrity in the open-access wiki environment, Global Energy Monitor researchers review all edits of project wiki pages.
Mapping
To allow easy public access to the results, Global Energy Monitor works with GreenInfo Network to develop a map-based and table-based interface using the Leaflet Open-Source JavaScript library. In the case of exact coordinates, locations have been visually determined using Google Maps, Google Earth, Wikimapia, or OpenStreetMap or given in research. For proposed projects, exact locations, if available, are from permit applications, or company or government documentation. If the location of a bioenergy power station or proposal is not known, Global Energy Monitor identifies the most accurate location possible based on available information.
Global Bioenergy Power Tracker Release Notes
January 2023
Global Energy Monitor releases the first version of the Global Bioenergy Power Tracker.
Preliminary China Bioenergy Capacity and Unit Count Methodology
The summary tables associated with the January 2023 Global Bioenergy Power Tracker include preliminary figures for operating and prospective bioenergy capacity and unit counts in China. Future releases of the Global Bioenergy Power Tracker will expand operating and prospective data in China at the project level.
China operating bioenergy capacity (MW) preliminary figure
According to the National Energy Administration, China’s total operating bioenergy capacity in the first three quarters of 2022 was 40,600 MW. GEM has researched 2,955 MW in the Global Bioenergy Power Tracker (GBPT). Therefore, the remaining operating capacity should be 37,645 MW. However, we’ve set the GBPT threshold at >=30MW. Based on the percent of projects in the SGNEC dataset that are >= to 30 MW, we assume that approximately only half of the remaining operating capacity needs to be added to the GBPT. The preliminary figure for total operating bioenergy capacity at the >=30 MW threshold in China is therefore 2,955 MW (currently captured in the January 2023 GBPT) plus 18,800 MW = 21,755 MW.
Table 1: China operating bioenergy capacity (MW) preliminary figure
| Estimates and data | Units |
|---|---|
| China operating capacity (MW) captured in the Global Bioenergy Power Tracker January 2023 | 2,995 MW |
| Total nationally-reported operating bioenergy capacity 2022 (MW) | 40,600 MW |
| Difference between operating capacity captured in the January 2023 GBPT and total operating capacity reported by the Chinese National Energy Administration | 37,645 MW |
| % of remaining operating capacity that is from units that are >= 30 MW | 50% |
| Remaining operating bioenergy capacity (MW) estimate at >= 30 MW threshold | 18,800 MW |
| Preliminary figure for China total operating capacity at >= 30 MW threshold | 21,755 MW |
China operating bioenergy unit count preliminary figure
In order to estimate the number of operating bioenergy units in China, we divided the total capacity of operating bioenergy units captured in the January 2023 GBPT (2,955 MW) by the number of operating bioenergy units captured in the January GBPT (84 units). We then took the remaining bioenergy capacity estimate (18,800 MW) and divided it by that average capacity (35 MW) to estimate the remaining number of bioenergy units (537 units). The preliminary figure for the total number of operating bioenergy units in China is therefore 84 (currently captured in the GBPT) plus 537 = 621 units.
Table 2: China operating bioenergy unit count preliminary figure
| Estimates and data | Units |
|---|---|
| China operating capacity (MW) captured in January 2023 GBPT | 2,995 MW |
| Number of operating Chinese bioenergy units reported in January 2023 GBPT | 84 bioenergy units |
| Average capacity of operating Chinese bioenergy units reported in January 2023 GBPT | 35 MW |
| Remaining operating bioenergy unit count estimate at >= 30 MW threshold | 537 bioenergy units |
| Preliminary figure for China total operating unit count at >= 30 MW threshold | 621 bioenergy units |
China prospective bioenergy capacity (MW) preliminary figure
Because there are no specific bioenergy goals written into the current national 5-year plan or into many local government 5-year plans, GEM has relied on likely growth rate scenarios estimates to estimate China’s prospective bioenergy capacity at the >= 30 MW threshold. While the average annual growth rate of last 13th 5-year plan was approximately 24%, due to various impacts such as the phase-out of subsidies and the Covid-19 pandemic, we predict that maintaining such growth rate is unlikely. For instance, the cumulative installed operating capacity of the first three quarters of 2022 was 40,600 MW, with a growth rate of 6.8% over the 2021 total operating capacity (37,980 MW). We therefore predict that a more realistic average annual growth rate should be closer to 10%, and the projected cumulative installed capacity of bioenergy in 2025 to reach 50-55 GW. The net growth for operating bioenergy capacity between 2022 and 2025, therefore, is 14,400 MW. To adjust for prospective capacity at the >= 30 MW capacity threshold, we again used estimates from SGNEC, which indicates that 50% of capacity (7,200 MW) will be from units that are >= 30 MW.
Table 3: China prospective bioenergy capacity (MW) preliminary figure
| Estimates and data | Units |
|---|---|
| China prospective capacity (MW) captured in January 2023 GBPT | 190 MW |
| Projected operating bioenergy capacity (MW) in 2025 | 55,000 MW |
| Difference between 2022 operating capacity in 2022 (40,600 MW) and projected operating capacity in 2025 (55,000 MW) | 14,400 MW |
| % of remaining prospective capacity that is from units that are >= 30 MW | 50% |
| Remaining prospective bioenergy capacity (MW) estimate at >= 30 MW threshold | 7,200 MW |
| Preliminary figure for China total prospective capacity at >= 30 MW threshold | 7,390 MW |
China prospective bioenergy unit count preliminary figure
In order to estimate the number of prospective bioenergy units in China, we divided the total capacity of prospective bioenergy units captured in the GBPT (190 MW) by the number of prospective bioenergy units captured in the GBPT (4 units). We then took the remaining bioenergy capacity estimate (7,200 MW) and divided it by that average capacity (48 MW) to estimate the remaining number of bioenergy units (152 units). The preliminary figure for the total number of prospective bioenergy units in China is therefore 4 (currently captured in the GBPT) plus 152 = 156 units.
Table 4: China prospective bioenergy unit count preliminary figure
| Estimates and data | Units |
|---|---|
| China prospective capacity (MW) captured in January 2023 GBPT | 190 MW |
| China prospective unit count in January 2023 GBPT | 4 bioenergy units |
| Average prospective capacity (MW) per unit | 48 MW |
| Estimated additional capacity (MW) remaining to research at the >= 30 MW threshold | 7,200 MW |
| Estimated additional units remaining to research at the >= 30 MW threshold | 152 bioenergy units |
| Preliminary figure for China total prospective unit count at >= 30 MW threshold | 156 bioenergy units |