NPP modelling for biomass energy estimations of South Africa

Abstract

With its warm climate and large amounts of fertile lands South Africa has the potential to become a relevant player in the production of bioenergy. The increasing demand of the African continent for energy shows the need in renewable energy sources. On the other hand, large-scale land use for energy crops may induce food security risks keeping in mind the also growing population attending the increasing demand on edibles. With the vegetation model BETHY/DLR we estimated the potential for bioenergy production, considering food security and sustainability. For the year 2003 we estimate a biomass energy potential of 461 PJ which is about 9% of the energy supply of this year according to IEA.