Biomass: Overview
Sunlight stored in wood, crops and dung
What this tile covers Solar energy stored by plants: wood, crop residues, dung and energy crops. Share of use 9.5% share of world energy supply (2023)Share of world total energy supply, 2024 (latest year where noted). Denominator is the Energy Institute Statistical Review 2025 total of 592.2 EJ (physical energy content method). Flows EI omits (traditional biomass via WBA, solar and geothermal heat, food energy) are set against the same 592.2 EJ, so shares sum to slightly more than 100%. Total bioenergy supply 56 EJ (WBA, 2023, includes traditional biomass) against EI's 592.2 EJ for 2024 (calculated). WBA itself gives 9% of a 622 EJ IEA-based total; EI's total leaves out non-commercial biomass, so this share is slightly high. Source: Global Bioenergy Statistics Report 2025: Summary, World Bioenergy Association.
Key facts
| Origin | Indirect solar |
| Renewable | Yes, if regrown |
Included from the reference tables
- Biomass
- Biofuels and biogas
- Forests and crops (biological storage)
Linked to the material world
Tm TimberSu SugarMz MaizePO Palm oilAlso in Solar-derived flows
Sun SunlightWd WindH2O Water cycleWv Ocean wavesOc Ocean currentsOT Ocean thermal gradientSal Salinity gradientAmb Ambient heatMu Muscle powerExplore paths from here
More on this tile in the tabs above: how energy resides, abundance, fluctuation in time, across the earth, impact on nature.