Economic and emissions impact of producing bioenergy from seaweed

Biomass is already widely used as a low-carbon source of energy with a range of bioenergy options in use across Europe. This includes everything from traditional sources such as heat from wood-burning stoves to crop-based biofuels and biogas plants using household and farm waste. One of the main drawbacks of many bioenergy sources is that the energy crops displace alternative land use, such as for food production. Seaweed has been suggested as a source of next generation bioenergy to address these concerns. It is harvested and cultivated on a commercial scale in several countries across the world but in most coastal areas it is relatively underexploited and therefore offers significant potential.