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Abstract Background Human and earth system modeling, traditionally centered on the interplay between the energy system and the atmosphere, are facing a paradigm shift. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s mandate for comprehensive, cross-sectoral climate action emphasizes avoiding the vulnerabilities of narrow sectoral approaches. Our study explores the circular bioeconomy, highlighting the intricate interconnections among agriculture, forestry, aquaculture, technological advancements, and ecological recycling. Collectively, these sectors play a pivotal role in supplying essential resources to meet the food, material, and energy needs of a growing global population. We pose the pertinent question of what it takes to integrate these multifaceted sectors into a new era of holistic systems thinking and planning. Results The foundation for discussion is provided by a novel graphical representation encompassing statistical data on food, materials, energy flows, and circularity. This representation aids in constructing an inventory of technological advancements and climate actions that have the potential to significantly reshape the structure and scale of the economic metabolism in the coming decades. In this context, the three dominant mega-trends—population dynamics, economic developments, and the climate crisis—compel us to address the potential consequences of the identified actions, all of which fall under the four categories of substitution, efficiency, sufficiency, and reliability measures. Substitution and efficiency measures currently dominate systems modeling. Including novel bio-based processes and circularity aspects might require only expanded system boundaries. Conversely, paradigm shifts in systems engineering are expected to center on sufficiency and reliability actions. Effectively assessing the impact of sufficiency measures will necessitate substantial progress in inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration, primarily due to their non-technological nature. In addition, placing emphasis on modeling the reliability and resilience of transformation pathways represents a distinct and emerging frontier that highlights the significance of an integrated network of networks. Conclusions Existing and emerging circular bioeconomy practices can serve as prime examples of system integration. These practices facilitate the interconnection of complex biomass supply chain networks with other networks encompassing feedstock-independent renewable power, hydrogen, CO2, water, and other biotic, abiotic, and intangible resources. Elevating the prominence of these connectors will empower policymakers to steer the amplification of synergies and mitigation of tradeoffs among systems, sectors, and goals.

A science writer who has been covering advanced technology for over 40 years gives a different, rarely seen view of tech startups: how they work, the common problems they seem to encounter – and why there are so many "Valley of Death" pitfalls waiting for them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examining the relationship between renewable and non-renewable energy sources and economic growth is crucial for designing sustainable growth policies in the context of global sustainability efforts. Previous studies relying on frequentist inference have faced challenges in disentangling the individual effects of these energy sources on economic growth due to their high degree of correlation, often leading to biased results. The Bayesian approach offers an alternative estimation method to address this multicollinearity issue. This study aims to demonstrate one of the advantages of the Bayesian hierarchical framework in handling multicollinearity by using a sample of 72 countries to evaluate the distinct impacts of renewable and non-renewable energy on economic growth. By incorporating specific priors into a Bayesian model to guide the estimation process, the findings confirm that both energy sources play significant roles in driving economic growth, with renewable energy sources exhibiting a comparatively weaker effect. These results align with theoretical expectations, indicating that renewables make a limited contribution to economic growth due to high investment costs, intermittency issues, and supply chain constraints. This study establishes a solid foundation for sustainable growth policy formulation by providing robust evidence. Plain language summary: In studying the energy-growth nexus, the Bayesian approach offers a robust and reliable estimation method to address multicollinearity issues, which makes it impossible for frequentist methods. The study aims to demonstrate one of the advantages of the Bayesian hierarchical framework in handling multicollinearity on a sample of 72 countries to access energy on economic growth. Renewable and non-renewable energy sources are significant drivers of economic growth, but renewable energy sources exert a comparatively weaker effect. These results are consistent with theoretical expectations that renewables make a limited contribution to economic growth owing to high investment costs, intermittency issues, and supply chain constraints. The study provides a robust empirical foundation for sustainable growth policy formulation. The main limitation of the study is the use of empirical rather than informative priors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper determines by how much alternative electricity generation sources—natural gas, nuclear, hydro, and renewables—displace electricity generation from coal and oil. It does so by employing a first-difference model and a mean-group estimator applied to a panel that spans 1985–2019 for 27 high- and 13 middle-income countries. As such, our approach avoids/addresses several statistical issues common in long-macro panel analyses—heterogeneity, nonstationarity, and cross-sectional dependence—that have largely been ignored/unaddressed in previous displacement studies. Ultimately, we find that the displacement effect is small and only marginally significant for nuclear, and is significant though less than unity for natural gas and hydro, whereas intermittent renewables (solar and wind) have unitary displacement effect. These results suggest a substantially greater displacement potential for alternative generation sources than typically found by the previous literature. In other words, increasing hydro and wind and solar are all impactful ways to decarbonize the electricity system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Human and earth system modeling, traditionally centered on the interplay between the energy system and the atmosphere, are facing a paradigm shift. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's mandate for comprehensive, cross-sectoral climate action emphasizes avoiding the vulnerabilities of narrow sectoral approaches. Our study explores the circular bioeconomy, highlighting the intricate interconnections among agriculture, forestry, aquaculture, technological advancements, and ecological recycling. Collectively, these sectors play a pivotal role in supplying essential resources to meet the food, material, and energy needs of a growing global population. We pose the pertinent question of what it takes to integrate these multifaceted sectors into a new era of holistic systems thinking and planning. Results: The foundation for discussion is provided by a novel graphical representation encompassing statistical data on food, materials, energy flows, and circularity. This representation aids in constructing an inventory of technological advancements and climate actions that have the potential to significantly reshape the structure and scale of the economic metabolism in the coming decades. In this context, the three dominant mega-trends—population dynamics, economic developments, and the climate crisis—compel us to address the potential consequences of the identified actions, all of which fall under the four categories of substitution, efficiency, sufficiency, and reliability measures. Substitution and efficiency measures currently dominate systems modeling. Including novel bio-based processes and circularity aspects might require only expanded system boundaries. Conversely, paradigm shifts in systems engineering are expected to center on sufficiency and reliability actions. Effectively assessing the impact of sufficiency measures will necessitate substantial progress in inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration, primarily due to their non-technological nature. In addition, placing emphasis on modeling the reliability and resilience of transformation pathways represents a distinct and emerging frontier that highlights the significance of an integrated network of networks. Conclusions: Existing and emerging circular bioeconomy practices can serve as prime examples of system integration. These practices facilitate the interconnection of complex biomass supply chain networks with other networks encompassing feedstock-independent renewable power, hydrogen, CO2, water, and other biotic, abiotic, and intangible resources. Elevating the prominence of these connectors will empower policymakers to steer the amplification of synergies and mitigation of tradeoffs among systems, sectors, and goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Adrar region (Algeria) has a total of 397,800 date palm trees (Phoenix dactylifera L.). Due to annual palm cleaning, large quantities of lignocellulosic biomass are produced. Depending on the variety, an average of 65 kg of biowaste is obtained per palm tree. Since the value of this biowaste is underrated, most of the palms are burned outdoors, causing air and visual pollution. This work explores the gasification potential of lignocellulosic waste from date palms (Phoenix dactylifera L. Takarbouche variety) into useful energy. The technology investigated is air updraft fixed-bed gasification, thanks to an originally designed and built reactor, with the capability to process 1 kg of feedstock. Four types of palm waste—namely, palms, petioles, bunch, and bunch peduncles—are first characterized (bulk density, proximate analysis, fixed carbon, elemental composition, and calorific value) and then used as feedstock for two gasification tests each. The syngas produced for the four date palm wastes is combustible, with an outlet temperature between 200 and 400 °C. The operating temperature inside the gasifier varies according to the feature of the biomass cuts (from 174 °C for the peduncles to 557 °C for palms). The experimental setup is also equipped with a cyclone, allowing for the recovery of some of the tar produced during the tests. Finally, the results show that the residence time has a positive effect on the conversion rate of date palm waste, which can significantly increase it to values of around 95%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the feasibility of India achieving its stated objective of getting to net zero carbon emissions by 2070 and outlines a possible strategy for the next 10 years consistent with this goal. It recommends a combination of price-based measures and several sector-specific interventions. The ideal price-based measure would be a carbon tax. This may not be feasible for various reasons, but in its absence a well-designed emissions trading system, as described in the paper, could make a major contribution in reducing emissions. On sectoral interventions, the critical areas over the next 10 years would be (i) accelerated expansion of various forms of renewable energy capacity, which will require several policy changes, (ii) electrification of transport, and (iii) a shift from private to public transport in urban areas and from road to rail for freight. Action will also be necessary in other sectors such as industry, agriculture, and buildings, but a detailed strategy for these may take more time to put in place. Since responsibility for action in all these areas is spread across different ministries in the central government and, in many cases, state governments, evolving an internally consistent and cost-effective strategy will present a major challenge. There is a case for setting up a high-level commission chaired by the Prime Minister to approve a national strategy. The paper estimates that the additional investment needed to make this transition will be about 2 per cent of India's GDP by 2030, much of which will have to come from additional public and private savings. In this context, some form of carbon pricing would help generate additional revenue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Libya is facing a serious challenge in its sustainable development because of its complete dependence on traditional fuels in meeting its growing energy demand. On the other hand, more intensive energy utilization accommodating multiple energy resources, including renewables, has gained considerable attention. This article is motivated by the obvious need for research on this topic due to the shortage of applications concerning the prospects of the hybridization of energy systems for electric power generation in Libya. The 283 MW single-cycle gas turbine operating at the Sarir power plant located in the Libyan desert is considered a case study for a proposed Integrated Solar Combined Cycle (ISCC) system. By utilizing the common infrastructure of a gas-fired power plant and concentrating solar power (CSP) technology, a triple hybrid system is modeled using the EES programming tool. The triple hybrid system consists of (i) a closed Brayton cycle (BC), (ii) a Rankine cycle (RC), which uses heat derived from a parabolic collector field in addition to the waste heat of the BC, and (iii) an organic Rankine cycle (ORC), which is involved in recovering waste heat from the RC. A thermodynamic analysis of the developed triple combined power plant shows that the global power output ranges between 416 MW (in December) and a maximum of 452.9 MW, which was obtained in July. The highest overall system efficiency of 44.3% was achieved in December at a pressure ratio of 12 and 20% of steam fraction in the RC. The monthly capital investment cost for the ISCC facility varies between 52.59 USD/MWh and 58.19 USD/MWh. From an environmental perspective, the ISCC facility can achieve a carbon footprint of up to 319 kg/MWh on a monthly basis compared to 589 kg/MWh for the base BC plant, which represents a reduction of up to 46%. This study could stimulate decision makers to adopt ISCC power plants in Libya and in other developing oil-producing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of a hydrogen economy as part of the response to the challenges especially of climate change and energy security will depend upon the solution not only of technical problems, but also of legal and regulatory problems. Whereas these are most obviously related to health and safety, this paper focuses on the fact that support for hydrogen is increasingly contingent upon the method of its production and specifically upon the level of greenhouse gas emissions involved. The paper examines emerging arrangements in Australia and the EU as examples of likely future key hydrogen exporters and importers, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The German electricity market has recovered well from the 2022 energy crisis. Policymakers should now redirect the focus of energy policy to further expanding renewable energy sources. The year 2023 showed that the German electricity supply remained secure following the shutdown of nuclear power plants. It is possible, affordable, and plausible in light of climate policy to cover 80 percent of electricity consumption with renewable energy sources, as the German Renewable Energy Sources Act plans for by 2030. However, a swift exit from coal, and natural gas in the long run, is required to achieve this, as is suggested by scenario analyses that track the price and volume effects as well as the grid situation on the German electricity market for the present and for 2030. The shutdown of nuclear power plants has been planned for a long time and was by no means a relevant driver of electricity prices. Rather, French nuclear power plants’ erratic downtimes as well as war-related increases in gas prices drove up electricity prices. The construction of new nuclear power plants, which has been discussed by policymakers, is irrelevant for the energy transformation over the next decades. The natural gas crisis has also ended. In addition to the coal phase-out, the fossil fuel phase-out is an integral part of the energy transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, the main component of most U.S. consumers' electricity bills is based on a constant price per kWh consumed. As intermittent renewable resources and flexible loads that can be shifted within days (such as electric vehicle charging) gain prominence in the electricity system, the efficiency gains to be realized from basing bills instead on wholesale spot prices increase. There is little political support for this change, however. We focus on second-best alternatives: time-of-use (TOU) rates and critical peak pricing (CPP). We introduce alternative assessment criteria that focus on intra-day load shifting. Using historical data, we find that TOU rates can reasonably replicate the intra-day load-shifting incentives provided under spot pricing. Thus, TOU rates, especially when complemented with CPP involving load control during infrequent scarcity price events, can be considerably more socially valuable than previously estimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the power system and climate policy implications of the anticipated expansion in electricity demand from datacentres. We perform a joint optimization of Generation and Transmission Expansion Planning for the island of Ireland considering uncertainty in future datacentre growth under various climate policies. Datacentre expansion imposes significant extra costs on the power system. A renewable energy target is more costly than a technology-neutral carbon reduction policy due to the restriction to invest solely in renewable energy, and the divergence in costs increases non-linearly in electricity demand. A carbon reduction policy is more robust to uncertainties in projected demand than a renewable policy. The increased demand from datacentres, which is relatively constant, is best matched by a power supply with constant output, generally fossil-fuelled power plants, potentially in combination with carbon capture and sequestration technology, than variable supply. Datacentre demand increases power system costs by 6% under a carbon reduction policy, and by 9% to 15% under renewable energy targets. However, the abatement cost of carbon under renewable targets decreases at higher levels of demand, while the opposite is true for the abatement cost under technology-neutral targets. High renewable targets crowd out other low-carbon options, namely CCS, leading to a higher cost solution for the same reduction in emissions, although this result is sensitive to increases in fossil fuel prices. The results suggest that climate-related energy policy should focus on technology-neutral carbon reduction policies. The climate impacts of datacentres on energy demand and thus supply requirements should also feature in climate and energy policy discussions. Climate policy that focuses on renewable energy only is more expensive than a technology-neutral climate policy The costs of a renewable-only focused climate policy increase non-linearly as demand increases [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a commentary on the paper by Bouder/Lofstedt on the role of risk analysis in the light of uncertainty. The commentary points at various challenges related to risk assessment, more particularly as far as new energy projects are concerned. One problem is that it is not always clear to what extent an expert can really be considered as an expert; another is that it is extremely difficult to organise public participation in a meaningful way. Moreover, as a result of lobbying by interest groups, decisions are not always made in the public interest, but industrial operators often try to influence decision-making. Several examples are provided of how that can go wrong. In general, the commentary pleads in favour of decision-making in the public interest, engaging experts in a critical manner, as well as meaningful and informed public participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mainly due to actions that aim to decelerate climate change, existing buildings are actively updated with new energy solutions. These typically aim to increase energy efficiency and to enhance the utilization of renewables. When the possibilities to produce, to consume and to store energy are manifold, and when the topical themes of peak shaving and demand response are taken into account, we a dealing with a complex field and vast number of variables in building's energy management. To find optimal solutions for these situations, Smart Case NZEB (Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings) was initiated. Smart Case NZEB is a Finnish-German joint-project, which aimed to find optimized energy solutions for modern buildings. The project was carried out in collaboration between Universities of Applied Sciences in Tampere (Finland) and in Munich (Germany), several companies were also involved. The development of the model presented in this paper bases on the simulation requirements set by the project. In order to support detailed and quite complicated IDA ICE modelling, we needed a simple and reliable model to simulate the effects of new energy solutions in existing buildings. Such solutions include, for example, electric and thermal energy storages for peak shaving of grid power and district heating. Reliable operation of simple computational model is based on calibration with measured data, after which the model can be used to estimate the effects of new energy solutions. In this paper we present the principle of the model and simulation results of the target building used in the project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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To date, despite the existence of the sustainability goals of the 2030 Agenda and the need for an energy transition, the results set is still quite far away from being achieved. The awareness of this situation moves many European countries to promote policies based on the use of renewable sources. This paper is aimed at illustrating the Italian legislative context, evaluating the effectiveness of the introduced incentives, according to parameters that affect the productivity of a photovoltaic system. It is also aimed at helping to bridge the gap linked to the relationship between incentives and energy transition, also with regard to renewables. The research focuses on an evaluation methodology, based on technical and economic standards and it is accompanied by a case-study. In order to analyze the productivity of the photovoltaic system, all the main input factors that could affect the technical and economic performance of the system were investigated. In particular, solar potential analysis, shading elements, installation place, azimuth, tilt of modules and technology. For the economic valuations, the discounted cash flow method was used. The results obtained show that some Italian regions, particularly those in the north, should prefer other forms of renewables, such as hydroelectric and geothermal, and that the FER1 decree is not suitable for the promotion of solar photovoltaics in some areas. The research shows also that policies on renewables should be calibrated according to the intrinsic features of the place where they are located and have to be related to the built heritage they will interface, in the light of technological and plant system aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discrepancies between several South-Eastern European (SEE) countries and Nordic countries are investigated in this paper using an econometric analysis. Its aim is to examine the relationship between CO2 emissions, GDP per capita, urban population (URB) and electricity production from Renewable Energy Sources (RES) - EPREN, excluding hydroelectric for the two groups of EU countries located in the North and S-E of Europe. The data covers a period from 1990 to 2022, providing a comprehensive view over three decades. The relationship between the four variables is determined by various causality and cointegration tests. We check the unit root tests and conclude that the analyzed time series are stationary at first difference. Further, we estimate two models: Fully Modified and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares and study causality and cointegration between variables. The results show that CO2 emissions are impacted by GDP, URB and EPREN for both regions. Testing causality, for SEE and Nordic countries, the bidirectional and causalities do exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition towards clean electricity is central to global decarbonisation. Countless metrics are used to assess national electricity transition efforts, which hinders understanding and comparison between nations or political party pledges. This study instead proposes three simple metrics: clean generation share, gross, and net carbon emissions intensity. It uses them to provide the first evaluation of the 2024 Clean Energy Mission (CEM) proposed by the UK's newly-elected Labour Government, which has strengthened ambition for wind and solar power capacity. We compare the CEM to previous political pledges, finding it could reduce national electricity generation emissions by 17 MtCO2 in 2030, equivalent to a two percentage point increase in the UK's 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). We also use these metrics to compare past efforts and future pledges across the G7 countries, finding that the CEM progresses the UK from having the lowest share of clean electricity in 2010 to the highest by 2030. The UK must increase its pace of clean electricity uptake and decarbonisation by a factor of 1.5–2 to meet its 2030 targets; compared to a factor 4–6 acceleration required by Germany and the US. The paper provides an innovative, simple and replicable framework for assessing the impact of political pledges or national targets for the power sector, and for comparing efforts to decarbonise electricity between countries and over time.

The impacts of climate change are real and in many parts of the world testify to its harsh reality, including rampant extreme weather events, droughts, heat, wildfires, and flooding which have recorded in places which have not experienced them in recent memory. In the quest to avert such events, there is a growing awareness and demand for sustainable processes and operations. Today, sustainability encompasses a balance between ecological footprint and human development index, taking into consideration economics, the green environment, safety, quality, ethics, diversity and inclusion (D&I), and communities. This article presents some steps that have been taken by Algeria to balance energetic autonomy and sustainable development, and a case study on green hydrogen production employing membrane processes. Algeria’s objective to join the global fight against climate change is to develop its green hydrogen base. Given its resources, including available solar and wind power, seawater desalination plants, building capacity, and its favorable location, it is developing its green hydrogen economy to supply hydrogen, especially to Europe. This presents an opportunity for other developing nations, especially in Africa, to gain from this experience.

Antibodies are used in many areas of biomedical and clinical research, but many of these antibodies have not been adequately characterized, which casts doubt on the results reported in many scientific papers. This problem is compounded by a lack of suitable control experiments in many studies. In this article we review the history of the ‘antibody characterization crisis’, and we document efforts and initiatives to address the problem, notably for antibodies that target human proteins. We also present recommendations for a range of stakeholders – researchers, universities, journals, antibody vendors and repositories, scientific societies and funders – to increase the reproducibility of studies that rely on antibodies.

UK Government projections anticipate increasing electricity use, provided by variable renewables (i.e., wind and solar PV). A side effect of increasing the proportion of variable renewable generation is increased support costs, including curtailment, energy storage, and (most significantly) the cost of supplying electricity for periods of high demand when variable renewable generation is low. As the proportion of variable renewable capacity increases, demand for supporting capacity increases but the capacity factor of the support generation decreases, raising the support costs. Using nuclear power for dedicated baseload supply makes the situation worse. This paper explores in the UK context an original low-cost solution using nuclear cogeneration with hydrogen production as the main application. Electricity is diverted at low cost to the grid at times of high demand when renewables are not available. This ensures nuclear maintains a high capacity factor. When higher temperature advanced systems become available, using thermal energy storage will increase the nuclear electrical capacity. This “Flexible Nuclear” scenario substantially reduces support costs for accommodating variable renewables, saving GBP 14 bn/yr and leading to an 80% reduction in CO2 equivalent emissions, compared to a recent UK Government scenario utilising a large capacity of hydrogen and unabated gas generation at very low capacity factors.

In a future where a large portion of power will be supplied by highly intermittent sources such as solar- and wind-power, energy storage will form a crucial part of the power mix ensuring that there is enough flexibility in the system to cope with the intermittency. With further development of pumped storage hydro constrained by the lack of remaining suitable topography, a novel Subsea Pumped Hydro Storage concept has emerged as a promising solution to utilize the ocean space for large-scale energy storage. While previous publications address thermodynamic efficiency limits, there is a notable lack of research on turbine selection, design, and cost estimation based on best practices. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of current state-of-the-art subsea engineering and its significant achievements pioneered by the oil and gas industry. This paper introduces a robust methodological framework for calculating the costs of concrete SPHS tanks, factoring in longevity and best installation practices for structures designed to endure for half a century. The results indicate that with an optimized design, the cost of an SPSH concrete storage tank is approximately $0.15/Wh. This work lays the groundwork for future advancements in SPHS, building on the substantial progress within subsea engineering over recent decades, and marks a significant step towards realizing the potential of this concept in the renewable energy landscape.

This paper focuses on the potential for integrating Geographic Information System (GIS) software into Fifth-Generation District Heating and Cooling (5GDHC) systems to promote efficient and sustainable energy management, particularly in Kazakhstan. By reviewing the key literature, we identify three main areas where GIS software enhances the planning of 5GDHC systems: decision-making in the context of energy market regulations, operational data utilization, and modeling/simulations for technical design. The technical design emphasizes the role of heat pumps, ultra-low temperature district heating (ULTDH) networks, and end-user buildings. Previous research has explored various methodologies for integrating network and demand-side strategies, developing sustainable district heating and cooling (DHC) systems, and mapping urban areas suitable for DHC deployment. However, none has presented an open-source model incorporating GIS-based decision-making in designing 5GDHC systems. This study, for the first time, addresses this gap through a case study conducted in the Northern Industrial Zone of Karaganda, Kazakhstan, demonstrating how GIS-enhanced modeling can be effectively applied in a developing, industry-driven economy. We outline the mathematical framework for comparing existing simulation tools and developing a custom model suited to the region’s needs. Additionally, we discuss validation and calibration methods, which remain underexplored in the current literature. The proposed model incorporates waste heat recovery from local sources, including nearby wastewater treatment plants, showcasing a sustainable energy solution for the industrial park. The results indicate that a well-structured 5GDHC system, supported by GIS tools, can markedly enhance energy efficiency and sustainability, presenting a scalable and adaptable approach for other regions in Kazakhstan and beyond.

Over the last 20 years, IPPC reports have made it clear that the world must move beyond simply reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere to actively removing it from the skies. (Solar and wind can reduce carbon emissions, but they do not remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere). New BioEnergy Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) technologies have been emerging that can remove carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere and sequester them permanently underground. Indeed, many long-term scenarios for transitioning from today's fossil fuel-dependent society to a future net zero society hinge on BECCS. But a key question is what bioenergy feedstock to use. In some cases, powering these facilities by burning biomass that comes from plantations in the US South is an option. Consequently, the study of the origins, production, and use of the fuel consumed by the world's largest biomass-fired power plant in Drax, England, provides a useful case study of the potential advantages and disadvantages of the burning of biomass – wood pellets made from trees, bark, roots, stumps, millwaste, sawdust, and other woody vegetation – in place of fossil fuel to generate power for processes such as BECCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]