Biomass is human civilisation's most ancient source of energy. It can be produced in forestry (woody biomass), in agriculture (energy crops) or form part of the waste derived from different kinds of processes (biomass residues). Biomass resources can be found or produced in almost any part of the world.
There are several technological ways to transform the energy content of biomass into electricity. The Technology Radar describes three of these ways in more detail, namely Direct biomass combustion, Biomass gasification and biogas-based combustions. You can access these options by using the navigation tool on the right. Several factors are common to all biomass-based technologies for electric power generation, however, and these are highlighted below.