A. Relevance and sustainability context
A.1 Policy relevance
The indicator measures the final energy supplied from biomass across the three major energy sectors—heat, electricity, and transport—expressed in TWh or PJ. It captures the contribution of solid biomass, biogas, biomethane, liquid biofuels, and biodegradable waste to Germany's renewable energy system. The indicator thereby provides insights into the role of bioenergy in replacing fossil fuels.
German policy relevance
National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP): Relevant for monitoring progress towards Germany's 2030 bioenergy deployment targets in the heat, electricity, and transport sectors. The indicator assesses whether bioenergy use is on track to meet the NECP objectives. Responsible ministry: BMWE.
European Union policy relevance
- Measures progress towards the targets of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III), such as renewable energy shares in heating, electricity, and transport.
- Supports the EU Bioeconomy Strategy by evaluating biomass utilization across economic sectors.
- Assists in evaluating compliance with the EU Governance Regulation through reporting in National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs).
A.2 Sustainability and / or comparative evaluation options
In order to put the indicator into perspective, it should be complemented by indicators that show both the overall energy demand and the renewable energy contribution in each bioenergy sector. Hence, the following indicators can be described:
- Bioenergy share of total final energy consumption (%), by bioenergy sector
- Bioenergy share of renewable energy consumption (%), by bioenergy sector
B. Data availability
B.1 Stage of development
Semi-established indicator, since the reporting of the relevant data is well established (AGEE-Stat) and it is part of long-term and regularly updated initiatives.
B.2 Data sources
UBA: Zeitreihen zur Entwicklung der erneuerbaren Energien in Deutschland unter Verwendung von Daten der Arbeitsgruppe Erneuerbare Energien-Statistik (AGEE-Stat)
https://datacube.uba.de/?fs[0]=Themen,0%7CEnergie%23ENERGY%23&pg=0&fc=Themen&bp=true&snb=9
B.3 Coverage over time and replicability
The data is available from 2000 until 2025. Further, there is a bi-annual reporting by UBA. Hence, the indicator can be updated yearly.
B.4 Coverage across scales and sectors; compatibility
Coverage at national scale. Compatible with EU data for country comparison. Sectoral breakdown by bioenergy sector possible. In the future, sub-sectors and further disaggregation of bioenergy sectors could be integrated (e.g. transport sector divided by aviation, maritime, road, rail, etc.). Further, possible future sectoral bioenergy demand targets, if outlined by the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) could be integrated for future years.
C. Considerations for operationalization
C.1 Feasibility: Fit for monitoring
The indicator is very fit for monitoring (methodologically sound, reliable, and fit for bioeconomy monitoring).
C.2 Institutions
UBA / AGEE-Stat
C.3 Future prospects
Indicator ready. Monitoring will be continued.
C.4 Costs, considerations and reproducibility
There is a conceivable interest in linking the data source to the bioeconomy monitoring.
C.5 Potential for automation
Strong: UBA provides data as API interface.
C.6 Presentation options and breakdown / sub-indicator needs
The indicator can show the historic absolute and relative trend developments of bioenergy use by sector and compare those to possible future goals.
C.7 Potential for scenario integration
There is a potential for scenario integration in bioeconomy scenarios and modelling, e.g. using past trends (status quo and future goals (NECP)).
C.8 Interlinkages and alignment with other monitoring activities
See figure 4.6 and 4.7 for previous indicator description in bioeconomy monitoring report: https://literatur.thuenen.de/digbib_extern/dn069207.pdf.
Alignment possible towards reporting in EU Governance Regulation Annex I.