Biomass feedstock
Module category
V1.0
Module name
Biomass feedstock
Module category
Carbon capture
Methodology name
Biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS)
Version
1.0
Methodology ID
RIV-BICRS-CC-BMF-V1.0
Release date
December 4th, 2024
Status
In use
This is a Carbon Capture Module and covers the sourcing of biomass feedstock for carbon storage projects. This module is part of the Riverse BiCRS methodology, which allows Project Developers to choose the relevant modules for their project, and shall be used with the necessary accompanying modules.
See more details on how modules are organized in the the BiCRS home page.
This module covers use of biomass feedstock for permanent carbon removal and storage. Eligible biomasses are those that:
could not have been used as main material products,
were not grown for the purpose of or bioenergy production.
For simplification, all feedstocks that meet the above requirements will be referred to hereafter as waste. Biomass feedstocks are categorized accordingly:
Forest waste from secondary forest
Natural but not primary old-growth forest, may still be managed for timber
Default if no other forest type can be proven
Forest waste from managed forest
Managed mixed-use forests that may include agroforestry, plantations or rotational logging
Must provide proof
Necessary tree removal from any forest
Damaged trees, or trees removed for planned forest management such as preventing disease spread or fires
Must provide proof
Agricultural residues with value
Residues left on soil or reapplied to soils for nutrient recycling (e.g. mulching, composting, spreading fast-decaying cellulose-based residues with decay within 5 years)
Default if prior use could not be determined
Agricultural residues with no value
Plowed into soil, burnt in the field, no substantial return of nutrients to soil
Must provide proof
Other waste or residue
To be evaluated on a case by case basis according to criteria outlined in the present document
Must provide proof
The Project Developer and entity eligible for receiving carbon finance the user of biomass feedstock who enables the permanent carbon storage. This is further specified in the corresponding carbon storage module.
Land owners or managers where biomass is cultivated or collected are not eligible Project Developers.
The eligibility criteria requirements specific to this module are detailed in the sections below. Other eligibility criteria requirements shall be taken from the accompanying modules and methodologies:
Project Developers shall prove that the project does not contribute to substantial environmental and social harms.
Projects must follow all national, local and European (if located in Europe) environmental regulations related to, for example, biomass harvesting, and forest management.
In addition to completing the Biomass feedstock risk assessment described below, Project Developers must prove the following elements.
Project Developers shall provide proof that the biomass feedstock is classified as waste. This can be done via any one of the following three methods:
Price: if Project Developers did not pay for the biomass, or if they were paid to handle it, the biomass can be considered waste. Acceptable proof includes invoices, receipts, or contracts.
Contextual analysis: Project Developers may submit an analysis supported by reputable sources that the biomass 1) could not be used as main material products, and 2) was not grown for the purpose of .
Positive list of wastes: if the biomass is included in the following list, it can be considered waste. Acceptable proof includes invoices, receipts, contracts, or photographic evidence and is required for validation:
sawmill residues
sawdust
shavings
bark
forestry tops and branches
wildfire management residues
straw
husks
corn cobs
wood from horticulture (trimmings or whole plants)
nut shells
bagasse
sugar beet pulp
Project Developers shall evaluate the most likely alternative use/s of the biomass in order to assess environmental risks, leakage risks, and to calculate replacement emissions (if applicable). The evaluation shall be transparent and conservative.
The alternative use shall address questions such as:
was the biomass used for a product or service, that now needs to be replaced?
was the biomass going to store carbon anyway (in the biomass itself and/or in the soil)?
Proof shall be provided and may include signed statements from the biomass provider, historical records from the biomass provider, regional statistics or reputable reporting.
A short list of likely alternative uses may be provided for descriptive purposes, but for the purpose of further analysis, one single alternative use shall be proposed.
Biomass feedstock originating from forests shall provide at least one of the following forestry sustainability certificates (or similar, with a sufficient justification):
FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)
PEFC (Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification)
RSB (Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials)
SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative)
SBP (Sustainable Biomass Program)
These certifications are used to prove:
Legal and transparent chain of custody
Proper forest regeneration
Safeguarding biodiversity and soil health
Historically stable or increasing forest carbon stocks
Sound socio-environmental practices in forestry operations
Project Developers shall fill in the Biomass feedstock risk evaluation, to evaluate the identified environmental and social risks of projects. The identified risks include:
Disruption of soil health when collecting and exporting organic matter
Presence of heavy metals, toxins or other chemical pollutants in the biomass
Spread of diseases or invasive species
Cultivation of feedstock
Deforestation from use of forestry products as feedstock
Distant transport of feedstock inputs (>100 km)
Biomass feedstock sourcing must not contribute to activity shifting leakage.
The requirement that biomass feedstock must be classified as waste prevents activity shifting leakage. Consequently, the evidence provided in the "Environmental and Social Do No Harm" section shall also be applied here to verify that the feedstock is waste.
Several other types of leakage risks are already covered by other components of this module:
Displacement of soil carbon storage: a small amount of soil carbon storage is assumed and modeled in the Baseline Scenario where relevant, effectively deducted from the project's carbon storage.
Upstream and downstream emissions: considered in the life-cycle based GHG quantifications in companion modules.
The GHG reduction quantification instructions from all other modules used by the project must be used in conjunction with the present module in order to obtain full life-cycle GHG reduction quantifications.
The required data from all projects using biomass feedstocks are presented in Table 2.
Table 2 Summary of primary data needed from projects and their source for initial project certification and validation. Asterisks (*) indicate which data are required to be updated annually during verification (see Monitoring Plan section).
Amount of biomass used*
Tonnes of fresh matter
Primary: Internal tracking documents, invoices, contracts
Carbon content of biomass
% w/w, fraction, kg/tonne
Major assumptions in this module include:
The permanent carbon sequestration rate in the baseline scenario is 0.5%.
Because the only biomass types allowed are waste, they are assigned no environmental impacts from their production/cultivation stage. Impacts from following stages, such as harvest, transport, and processing, shall be accounted for in the Processing and energy use module.
This section is only required if the feedstock's alternative use was to be left on the soil or reapplied to soils for nutrient recycling. Specifically this includes but is not limited to:
mulching
composting
spreading fast-decaying cellulose-based residues (e.g. decay within 5 years)
The Baseline Scenario shall include permanent carbon storage that would have occurred anyway in the absence of the project.
Although most biomass carbon would be released before the CDR project's permanence horizon, a small fraction is stabilized permanently as soil carbon. This portion is accounted for in the Baseline Scenario and deducted from the project's carbon removal capacity.
The uncertainty around biomass carbon being 1) naturally incorporated into the soil and 2) converted to a stable carbon form is high, influenced by factors such as climate, soil type, soil health, and land use, making it hard to estimate for individual projects. Thus, it's assumed that 0.5% of the carbon in the biomass feedstock will be permanently stored in soils.
See general instructions for uncertainty assessment in the Riverse Standard Rules. The outcome of the assessment shall be used to determine the percent of RCCs to eliminate with the .
For projects that include baseline permanent carbon storage, the assumption that 0.5% of carbon is permanently sequestered is has moderate uncertainty, but the total net project removals is not sensitive to this assumption. Therefore, this translates to an expected discount factor of at least 3% for projects that include baseline permanent carbon storage.
Monitoring Plans for this module shall include, but are not limited to, tracking of the following information for each reporting period:
Mass, type and source of all biomass feedstocks collected by the project.
Sustainable forestry certification (if applicable)
The Project Developer is the party responsible for adhering to the Monitoring Plan.
Depending on the project type, chemical analyses may be performed on the biomass feedstock or the final carbon storage solution (e.g. biochar). The accompanying carbon storage module shall specify at which stage chemical analyses should be performed. In all cases, carbon content of biomass feedstock must be provided, although secondary sources may be acceptable (see Data sources).
If chemical analyses of feedstock are required, Project Developers shall follow the instructions in the Sampling Requirements page to ensure a random and representative sampling procedure.
Chemical analyses shall be defined by the carbon storage module and may include but are not limited to:
Organic carbon content
Determining amount of carbon removed and carbon removal efficiency
Total carbon content
Determining amount of carbon removed and carbon removal efficiency
C:N ratio
Stability of biomass
Moisture content
Mass conversions
Primary or secondary: Laboratory chemical analyses, or local/national agriculture government agencies
Download the template here
All risk assessments must also address the defined in the Riverse Standard Rules.
Project Developers shall assign a likelihood and severity score of each risk, and provide an explanation of their choices. The VVB and Riverse’s Certification team shall evaluate the assessment and may recommend changes to the assigned scores.
All risks with a high or very high risk score are subject to a , which outlines how Project Developers will mitigate, monitor, report, and if necessary, compensate for any environmental and/or social harms.
Additional proof may be required for certain high risk environmental and social problems.
The Project Developer, the Riverse Certification team, or the VVB may suggest additional risks to be considered for a specific project.
Note that the life-cycle GHG reduction calculations account for the climate change impacts of most environmental risks. Nonetheless, Project Developers shall transparently describe any identified GHG emission risks in the risk evaluation template.
