APAC biopower to supply 55% of global capacity by 2035

China held 47.4 GW of cumulative biopower capacity in 2025.

Asia-Pacific (APAC) is projected to account for around 55% of global biopower capacity by 2035, up from about 42% in 2025, as China drives more than half of the region’s forecast additions, according to GlobalData.

China held 47.4 gigawatts of cumulative biopower capacity in 2025, the largest in APAC.

“Growth in several Asian markets is increasingly supported by locally available agricultural residues and municipal waste, particularly in China, which has developed one of the world’s largest waste-to-energy fleets,” said Mohammed Ziauddin, Power Analyst at GlobalData.

Rising urban waste volumes, abundant agricultural residues, and the need for dispatchable renewable generation are supporting investment in the sector, particularly as grids take on more solar and wind capacity, Ziauddin added.

Renewable municipal waste accounted for more than 40% of China’s biopower capacity in 2025, allowing projects to combine electricity generation with waste treatment.

Residue-based projects similarly use by-products from agricultural and processing industries. Such projects can generate revenue beyond electricity sales, including waste treatment fees and access to low-cost residues, although policy support remains important.

The shift comes as support for conventional biomass power becomes more selective in mature markets, with incentives increasingly directed towards projects that provide additional system value.

Japan will exclude new woody biomass plants of 10 megawatts or more using general timber from feed-in-tariff and feed-in-premium support from fiscal year 2026, whilst smaller and waste-based facilities remain eligible.

South Korea’s December 2024 reform of its Renewable Energy Certificate system ended eligibility for new biomass plants and reduced weightings for state-owned facilities, whilst retaining support for domestically sourced biomass.

Ziauddin said support for conventional biomass electricity is being restructured rather than removed, as policymakers increasingly assess whether projects provide benefits such as dispatchable capacity, useful heat, waste treatment, or renewable gas.

He added that the trajectory of biopower over the next decade will depend on feedstock security, support mechanisms, and the additional system value projects provide beyond electricity generation.

Competition for sustainable biomass is also increasing as biomethane, sustainable aviation fuel, and industrial heat draw on overlapping feedstock pools, whilst import-dependent markets remain exposed to price and sustainability pressures in the pellet trade.

“Countries with domestic residue availability and integrated waste management systems are better positioned to sustain growth,” Ziauddin said.