Biofuel energy generation up a seventh from 2007 to 2009

Newly published figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) show an increase of around a seventh in the amount of energy generated from biofuel sources between 2007 and 2009.

During the two-year period, biofuel - incorporating gas captured from landfill sites - rose by 14.5 per cent in terms of the number of TWh of electricity produced using it.

In 2009, 44 per cent of the renewable energy produced could be accounted for by biomass sources.

These figures are encapsulated within a wider trend that saw the overall use of renewable production methods rise over the two years.

From 4.8 per cent of all electricity produced in 2007, renewables rose to 5.4 per cent in 2008 and then accelerated to reach 6.6 per cent in 2009.

DECC notes that biomass typically falls into three categories; degradable waste from which energy can be yielded, purpose-grown crops and managed forestry products.