Life cycle assessment of amending biomass-fired energy plants with carbon capture and storage

This study assesses the environmental performance of amending existing wood biomass-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plants in Northern Europe with carbon capture and storage (CCS). The study quantifies climate change impacts across scenarios involving biomass provision, transportation, energy systems, and CO₂ handling using life cycle assessment. It includes robustness assessment in the form of perturbation analysis and analytical parameter uncertainty. The default Bioenergy scenario, considering only CHP, results in a net climate burden of 5 kg CO₂-eq/1000 MJ heat produced. In contrast, the default BECCS (Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage) scenario achieves a net climate saving of − 77 kg CO₂-eq/1000 MJ heat. Key influencing factors include biomass provision, transportation, and CO₂ capture efficiency. Further, waste biomass and renewable energy along the value chain significantly reduces emissions. Energy system changes strongly affect the Bioenergy scenario. When the energy system is varied from fossil to renewable, the net climate impact of the Bioenergy scenario shifts from − 19 to + 18 kg CO₂-eq/1000 MJ. On the other hand, the BECCS scenario remains consistently beneficial, with net climate savings between − 81 and − 75 kg CO₂-eq/1000 MJ across all energy systems. The findings recommend retrofitting existing biomass CHP plants with CCS to achieve robust climate benefits. Recommendations include prioritising waste biomass, avoiding fossil fuels in preparing the biomass, and selecting low-impact transport options to maximise environmental performance.