Germany industry heating and cooling from solid biomass
Germany industry heating and cooling from solid biomass stood at 26,324 GWh in 2025, according to German Environment Agency (UBA) / Working Group on Renewable Energy Statistics (AGEE-Stat). It is one of the indicators in the Renewable energy: shares, investment and avoided emissions table (Value · Annual), with a complete series running from 1990 to 2025. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Renewable energy: shares, investment and avoided emissions table
| Indicator | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 209,848 | 197,320 | 186,757 | 204,110 | 195,161 | 176,928 | 179,073 | 174,893 | 170,514 | 165,999 | |
| Solid biomass, industry | 26,324 | 26,324 | 25,291 | 25,589 | 24,820 | 23,279 | 23,784 | 24,522 | 26,326 | 27,031 | |
| Solid biomass, heating and CHP plants | 7,021 | 6,800 | 6,685 | 6,470 | 6,796 | 6,296 | 6,121 | 5,740 | 6,193 | 6,259 |
Understanding germany industry heating and cooling from solid biomass
Thermal energy derived from combusting solid biomass within industrial processing sites constitutes the final consumption volume tracked in this series. The scope encompasses self-generated heat, steam, and drying energy produced by burning solid organic fuels, including wood chips, bark, sawdust, timber pellets, and pulping liquors directly on site. This perimeter excludes solid fuels burned in residential fireplaces, commercial premises, or central heating plants that deliver heat through public district heating networks. It likewise leaves out alternative renewable thermal carriers, such as liquid biofuels, biogas, geothermal energy, and solar thermal collectors, as well as biomass utilized purely for power generation without heat recovery.
Because figures are compiled on an annual basis, comparing consecutive years provides the honest benchmark for tracking structural substitution between fuel types while smoothing out transitory weather variations. Early annual releases frequently incorporate provisional survey estimates and modeled consumption metrics, which undergo regular revisions as enterprise fuel balance sheets and verified trade statistics are finalized. Reported volumes capture final heat delivered rather than the gross calorific value of raw feedstocks, meaning combustion efficiency losses are excluded from the total. Analysts should also distinguish this industrial total from aggregate renewable heat demand, since it isolates a single technology stream within a specific economic sector.
Frequently asked questions
- Which specific fuels are accounted for in this industrial biomass measure?
- The balance includes solid timber by-products such as wood chips, bark, sawdust, pellets, and spent pulping liquors burned on site. Liquid biofuels, biogas, and municipal waste fractions are excluded from this category.
- Does this series include thermal energy purchased from external district heating networks?
- No, thermal supplies delivered through third-party district grids are accounted for under public heat distribution networks. This series captures only self-generated heat produced and utilized directly within industrial facilities.
- Why does the indicator report final heat in GWh rather than the raw weight of combusted wood?
- Reporting in GWh measures useful energy output, standardizing for variations in moisture content and calorific density across diverse solid fuels. It also ensures comparability with other renewable heating and cooling sources across national accounts.