In Xuzhou, a city in Jiangsu Province in eastern China, a biomass power plant is turning farm waste into electricity. Mechanical claws at the facility continuously feed dried straw onto conveyor belts, which then carry the material into furnaces to be converted into energy. The plant can handle about 300,000 tonnes of crop waste annually, producing over 220 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, reported Bioenergy Insight.
“This saves around 90,000 tonnes of coal and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 200,000 tonnes each year,” said Zhang Yunfei, director at the State Grid Xuzhou Power Supply Company.
Biomass energy—sourced from leftover crops, tree trimmings, animal waste, and household organic refuse—is increasingly being used in China’s push for clean energy. Once considered useless, these materials are now viewed as a key resource in the country’s shift away from fossil fuels.
“Fewer farmers are burning crop residue in fields, which used to cause pollution and fire hazards. Now, the straw is brought to biomass plants,” Zhang added. “Xuzhou has an abundance of biomass and high potential for converting it into energy.” The city operates 17 biomass power plants, with a total capacity of 335.6 megawatts, generating nearly 2 billion kilowatt-hours annually.
China is one of the world’s largest producers of biomass, generating about 3.5 billion tonnes of agricultural, forestry, and household waste each year. But much of it still goes unused. In January, the country enacted its first national energy law, which encourages regions to develop biomass power based on local conditions.
In Shanghai, pilot projects are underway to convert biomass into green methanol, with the goal of creating a supply of 300,000 tonnes of clean marine fuel by 2030. In neighboring Anhui Province, companies are scaling up projects to turn straw and animal waste into liquefied biogas and capture carbon emissions in the process.
Elsewhere in Jiangsu, a circular economy industrial park in Suzhou is making use of food waste from businesses. “We recycle about 90 percent of kitchen waste into natural gas for the city’s grid or into compost for landscaping,” said Huang Yuanchen, general manager of an environmental firm in the park. His company also processes tree branches and leaves into fuel pellets, handling 100 tonnes of green waste daily and earning about 9 million yuan ($1.26 million) in annual sales.
Yu Tong, head of the China Association for the Promotion of Industrial Development, said shifting to biomass energy is essential. “Biomass is flexible—it can be used as a solid, liquid, or gas—and it can replace fossil fuels in many areas.”
A report on China’s biomass industry estimates that by the end of 2024, the country had installed 45.99 million kilowatts of biomass power capacity, producing 208.3 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and around 500 million cubic meters of biogas.
“To improve efficiency and reliability, real-time monitoring systems are being installed to track biomass plant performance,” said Li Yi, who oversees planning at the Xuzhou branch of State Grid.
Yang Xudong, a professor at Tsinghua University, said there is still more to be done. “Biomass is easy to store and transport, and it can take the place of other commercial fuels. It offers strong economic benefits and helps maintain a low carbon footprint,” he said. “Going forward, we should improve the entire supply chain to make the most of this clean energy source.”
