10 Leading Bioenergy Producers in the World by 2021

In today’s world, we face both environmental and developmental crises. For most of the developing nations, environmental pollution and ecological destruction is now a runaway problem. Many nations suffer from chronic energy poverty and millions of people do not have access to electricity. Besides, the usage of fuels causes pollution and increases the burden of disease. However, in the last few years, trends of using bioenergy have become quite popular with many new projects and initiatives being given the green light across the globe. This has shown a positive impact on national, regional, and local levels. More business and residential buildings are converting waste-to-energy systems, thereby supporting this market, worldwide.

Covid-19 Impact

The pandemic has compelled governments to take precautionary measures such as imposing lockdown to curb the virus spread. These measures impacted the global economy. According to the Renewable Energy Institute 2020 report, the world is facing the worst recession since the Great Depression which estimated a global economic growth of – 4.9% in the year 2020 as compared to a growth of 2.9 % in 2019. This impacted this market, as well as the overall energy demand around the world, which showed a decline of 18 – 25%. Most of the industries are at a halt, restriction on transportation led to the greatest drop in fuel demand.

This article lists down the top 10 bioenergy companies profiled in the global market. They are as follows: 

ADM

ADM, a multinational company, was established in 1902, with its headquarters in Chicago. It supports sustainable practices and helps farmers with innovative technologies to boost their production. For instance, in April 2021 it started manufacturing ethanol using corn dry mills, to meet the demand for biofuel thereby supporting bioenergy as a renewable source of energy.

Ameresco, Inc

Ameresco, Inc is a leading renewable energy assets developer. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Massachusetts, United States.  The company aims at providing budget-friendly solutions which include Energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs) and it’s off the charts Energy as a Service (EaaS) contracts that help in eliminating financial barriers of renewable and bioenergy projects.  It’s assets and a renewable energy solution have been delivered to its clients throughout North America and the United Kingdom. In April of the year 2020, Ameresco Inc announced that its facility which is based on 91st Avenue RNG in Phoenix received an honorable mention in Fast Company’s 2020 World-Changing Ideas Awards” in the category of energy.

EnviTec Biogas AG

EnviTec is a leading producer of biogas and offers a broad collection for all aspects of energy which is produced from biomass. The company offers specially tailored plant concepts which provide an all-around service ranging from green concepts for biomethane to electricity marketing as well as heating concepts. In addition to all of this the company also operates its own biogas plants with the help of local partners from the field of agriculture or the energy industry. In June 2020, EnviTec Biogas AG signed a contract with Estonia-based AS EG Ehitus which is a part of a gas network operator known as Eesti Gaa. This contract was done to upgrade EnviTec biogas plants and popularize use of bioenergy.

 Enviva, LP

Enviva is one of the largest producers of viable wood pellets which is a renewable alternative to coal. Wood-based bioenergy is part of an all-in renewable strategy that is being used to reduce carbon emissions and thereby limiting our dependence on fossil fuels. In August of 2020, it became one of the leading global bioenergy companies with its expertise in sustainable wood bioenergy. The company also acquired an industrial-scale wood pellet production plant in Waycross, Georgia.

Drax Group

Drax Group is to help create a zero-carbon, low-cost energy for the future. The company operates three pellet manufacturing mills in the US. The company uses compressed wood pellets which are produced from sustainably managed forests.  These pellet manufacturing mills supply around 20% of the total biomass that is used by Drax Power Station. This is then used to generate flexible and renewable power for the homes and businesses of the UK. In March 2020, the Associated British Ports (ABP) and Drax Group received the largest consignment of sustainable biomass to arrive at the Port of Immingham, in the Humber region of UK.

STRABAG SE

STARBAG is a European-based technology group that is involved in construction services and it stands as a pioneer in the field of innovation and financial strength. Under the plant construction segment, the company offers to design and construct a fully working for the complete treatment of biogas from a single source. The company has been greatly recognized as a leader in waste management and is also a member of the Construction Monitoring Association for Environmental Protection. In November of 2020, STRABAG Umwelttechnik GmbH, a part of the STRABAG SE, announced that along with its joint venture partner, Poznań based AK Nova Sp. z o.o signed a contract with the Municipal Association of Communes "Clean Town, Clean Commune" from Kalisz for the design and production of an anaerobic digestion (AD) system.

Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc

One of the world’s leading manufacturers and distributors of industrial wood pellets is The Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc. The company has a capacity of operating eight wood pellet manufacturing facilities throughout western Canada long with one production facility based in Alabama. The combined manufacturing capacity of these plants is approximately around 2.83 million metric tonnes per year. In the month of December of the year 2019, Pinnacle Renewable Energy announced that it will be starting the construction of a new industrial wood pellet manufacturing facility which is based in the southeast United States. The new facility would be located besides an existing large sawmill in Demopolis, Alabama. The Facility which is to be based in Demopolis is expected to have an annual production volume of 360,000 metric tonnes per year.

Enerkem

Enerkem is the world’s first company to produce renewable methanol and ethanol from non-recyclable, non-compostable municipal solid waste at a full commercial scale. The core value and the vision of the company is to help reduce up to 90% of the waste by transforming non-reusable materials into power vehicles or to manufacture a lot of useful things for the various communities around the world which will not only help reduce waste but also help people. For instance, In December of the year 2020, Enerkem announced the construction of a USD 875 million biofuels plant in Varennes with the help of a group of strategic partners such as Shell, Suncor, Proman, and Hydro-Québec, which will help supply renewable hydrogen and oxygen, along with the support of the governments of Quebec and Canada.

Green Plains Inc.

Green Plains Inc. is one of the leading biorefining companies which is primarily focused on the development and the utilization of fermentation, agricultural and biological technologies in the processing of annually renewable crops into viable value-added ingredients.  Green Plains Inc first introduced in the year 2007 since then the biofuels manufactured by the company have greatly reduced the CO2 emissions by over 34.3 MMT. This number is equivalent to taking 7.4 million passenger vehicles off the road, according to a report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In March 2021, Green Plains Inc. announced that its subsidiary, Green Plains Ord LLC, completed the sale of its ethanol plant located in Ord, Nebraska, to GreenAmerica Biofuels Ord LLC for $64 million, plus working capital to support this market.

POET

POET is one of the largest producers of biorefinery products. The company is based in South Dakota, Scotland. The company aims to develop natural and renewable products and also trying to make a substitution of petrochemicals, to provide a carbon nation.  In March 2021, POET announced that it has expanded its manufacturing of all-natural 100% plant-based alcohol, which has exceeded the highest global quality standard that has been set for alcohol. POET has also unveiled a wide range of its new bio-based products under a new name “POET Pure”.

One of the Best Ways to Address Climate Change - Bioenergy 

To have a lower carbon future, the world needs to contribute to bioenergy. Even the world’s leading authority on climate science, “The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has made the nation recognizes this type of energy as the future. The IPCC mentions that the sustainable management of our natural resources should be the top priority and nations are shifting to replace fossil fuels to prevent carbon emission as well as to keep and preserve forests.