What role can bamboo play in energy diversification?

Palsa & Pulk
Oct 30
12 min read

Updated: Nov 13

An introduction to the potential role bamboo could have in the energy transition.

This edition of “The Just Transition Newsletter by Palsa & Pulk was written by Teun Bastiaans and Christine Nikander.

Bamboo as a source of biomass

There are several factors that make bamboo an attractive form of biomass for companies looking to produce bioenergy. First off, bamboo is “the fastest-growing plant on the planet”.^[i] It can grow up to “21 cm per day to an average height of 25 meters in the first 6 months”.^[ii] This means that cultivating bamboo can effectively be a quick way to produce biomass. Secondly, “bamboo regenerates even if the stems are cut or destroyed in a fire or storm” — making it fairly resilient to natural disasters which are increasing with climate change. Thirdly, bamboo “has a higher yield per acre than other crops, meaning it can produce more usable material in the same amount of space”. It also requires “very little water, pesticides, or fertilisers to grow, making it a more sustainable option for agriculture”.^[iii]

Beyond this, it is worth noting that the rhizomes — “which are underground stems that grow horizontally and can give rise to new shoots and roots” — of some bamboo species, such as Moso and Madake from the Phyllostachys genus, “help it survive adverse conditions, such as drought[s] or fire[s]”.^[iv] The rhizomes also prevent erosion, bind topsoil, and protect water quality. Bamboo is, therefore, “useful for stabilising slopes, riverbanks, degraded land, and areas prone to landslides”.^[v]

Few resources in the world have such diverse and sustainable applications as bamboo. Across Latin America, Africa, and Asia, bamboo serves as a nature-based solution in water and soil management, climate change mitigation, and sustainable production of consumer products.^[vi]

Using bioenergy from bamboo to diversify energy production

Given that bamboo is a fast-growing grass species, it has the potential to serve as an efficient and promising bioenergy source.^[vii] Bioenergy is a largely renewable energy source derived from biomass. Therefore, bioenergy takes advantage of the carbon fixated in living organisms through the fast carbon cycle, instead of interfering in the slow carbon cycle through fossil fuel extraction. Accordingly, FAO reports consider bamboo to be the “plant of the millennium”.^[viii] However, its current application as a bioenergy source is only considered to be a fraction of its full potential. It is therefore interesting to explore what the role of bamboo could look like in the future, and in what ways it can change our critical systems and infrastructure.

As of 2023, 24.5% of the European Union’s energy originates from renewable energy sources.^[ix] While each energy source has its socioeconomic and ecological benefits and risks for sustainability, the diversification of energy sources is crucial to mitigate dependency risks.^[x] For example, changing weather conditions (for solar and wind), geopolitical relations (for raw materials), and investment capacity (for nuclear) can be important barriers that inhibit the utilization of other energy sources.

According to the International Energy Agency, biomass is “the largest source of renewable energy globally, accounting for almost 55% of renewable energy (excluding traditional use of biomass) and over 6% of [the] global energy supply”.[xi] Yet, bamboo is still an underutilized source of bioenergy globally.[xii] Given the unsuitable climatic and geographic conditions on the European continent, bamboo cannot be cultivated locally. Therefore, as a bioenergy source, bamboo creates the opportunity to intensify intercontinental collaborations — for example, with Colombia.

Bamboo is a native species in the Andean region of Colombia, and currently large-scale cultivation projects are taking place in the agricultural plains of Meta, Colombia. Preliminary studies show the feasibility and benefits of Guadua pellets as a sustainable bioenergy source in the Dutch energy matrix,^[xiii] but empirically no projects have advanced yet.

Wood is an inefficient and slow source of bioenergy creation, compared to other sources of biomass energy.^[xiv] Whereas the life cycle of a tree (from germination to harvest) is between 12-15 years,^[xv] bamboo culms can produce bioenergy after a cycle of 3-5 years.^[xvi] Another highly productive species for bioenergy is sugarcane (also part of the family Gramineae/Poaceae). While bamboo’s high turnover rate and biomass yield creates multiple advantages, bamboo as a bioenergy source fails to sequester atmospheric carbon for longer periods of time, limiting its climate mitigation effect. Additionally, bamboo has high material qualities, with a tensile strength (strength-to-weight ratio) up to 4 times higher than that of steel.^[xvii] This leads to higher energy requirements to convert bamboo stems into, for example, combustible pellets. Overall, these are important limitations and side-effects to consider. Simultaneously, bamboo’s potential yield and carbon fixation rates are extraordinary and can provide significant benefits for the global carbon matrix.

Bamboo’s role in protecting biodiversity

The ecological impact of bamboo on the direct environment should be accounted for when considering its use as a bioenergy source. Generally, bamboo is a resilient species and can grow well on infertile and degraded lands.^[xviii] Therefore, it does not compete with the cultivation of other productive land uses. In the Colombian context, bamboo is better associated with its potential for renaturation, rather than deforestation. However, the risk for land-use competition can emerge when large-scale cultivation occurs in non-native areas, favoring bamboo over food production or forest areas.^[xix]

Sustainable land management strategies can limit these potentially negative ecological impacts of bamboo cultivation on an ecosystem. For example, bamboo is a fast-spreading species, but with strict management of the stands, the risk of invading other land use areas is limited.^[xx] These plants’ characteristics require careful attention and can strengthen their positive ecological impacts. For example, bamboo stands managed simultaneously for their production and conservation positively affect the biodiversity levels recorded inside the stands.^[xxi] “Bamboo forests support a high level of biodiversity, with many species of plants, animals, and microorganisms living within them.”^[xxii] This means that, if cultivated where it is domestic and if managed correctly, bamboo can have a positive impact on local biodiversity levels.

Periodic harvesting of mature bamboo culms fixates the carbon for the production of energy, while it creates space and provides sunlight for new culms to grow in the bamboo forest. As a result, bamboo rewrites the narrative on biomass cultivation. It thrives in the approach of moderation, as the most productive and ecologically beneficial bamboo forests strive for simultaneous conservation and production. Ultimately, this demonstrates that ecological and economic goals within natural resource management and bioenergy production can synergize with and reinforce one another.

Bamboo is not a silver bullet

Nonetheless, bamboo and other bioenergy sources cannot serve as the principal solution to solve global electrification challenges. Its potential is significant, but it is inherently limited by the geography, scale, alternative land-uses and socioeconomic conditions of the local inhabitants. For example, bamboo can be converted into pellets, biochar or ethanol as energy sources. However, these different energy carriers require industrial investment, expertise, and infrastructure — and these are not always present or developed yet. Secondly, the dependency on suitable climatic conditions for bamboo growth and cultivation creates an uncertainty in provision. Therefore, bamboo can contribute to overcoming the challenges in the international energy transition, but not overcome these by itself.

As with other forms of bioenergy, it is important to consider the areas needed to cultivate bamboo and the potential risk of changes to land use through bamboo when using it as biomass. If bamboo forests replace a rainforest, this can obviously not be seen as a sustainable solution. Situations where the cultivation of bamboo for bioenergy production leads to “large-scale monoculture plantations” of bamboo are not optimal.^[xxiii]

In this context, it is worth noting that there are examples of bamboo forests “expanding at the expense of natural vegetation, including clear-felling of old-growth forests”.^[xxiv] In these examples, the “clearing of natural forests for establishment of bamboo plantations; creation of monoculture plantations; loss of biodiversity; substantial use of fertilizers and pesticides despite claims that bamboo crops required neither of these treatments; and unsustainable harvesting of natural stands of bamboo” have occurred.^[xxv] Particularly large-scale bamboo forests in China have been linked to “biodiversity loss and ecosystem service decrease due to intensive management practices and the creation of monocultures; the clearing of forests and exploitation of forest resources; destructive use of fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides; and [have used a] high quantity of water [...] for bamboo production”.^[xxvi]

In short, the “green status to bamboo products” needs to be assessed critically.^[xxvii] The use of reliable third-party certifications for bamboo could be one way to combat deforestation and change of land use.^[xxviii] The EU’s Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products (EUDR), notably however, does not apply to “[p]roducts made solely from bamboo”. In line with the definition of the FAO, “bamboo is a non-wood forest product, consequentially bamboo does not fall under the commodity wood”.^[xxix] Ultimately, the sustainable management of bamboo forests requires a deep understanding of the local ecological conditions. For example, the harvesting cycle is influenced by the position of the moon and local moisture levels.^[xxx] Therefore, in the critical assessment of whether a bamboo forest has been managed sustainably, the knowledge of local professionals is paramount.

More fundamentally, without the engagement of local landowners, workers, and the institutional strength to safeguard their living and working conditions, the transition from critical raw materials — needed in other renewable energy sources — to bioenergy merely shifts poor living conditions from one region to another. Therefore, a critical and location-specific perspective is crucial. What works in Colombia, and the socioeconomic benefits bamboo can create there, might not apply in India or Nigeria. The ecological goal for biomass energy is clear: the mitigation of carbon emissions by replacing fossil fuel emissions with net-zero alternatives. However, long-term sustainability can only be achieved through engagement from all actors, which is incentivized through fair payment, as well as participation in the decision-making and benefit-sharing process. With this socioeconomic baseline of low-carbon energy and socially just compensation, bamboo can create important synergies between producers in the Global South and consumers in the Global North.

Bamboo as an opportunity for energy companies

Bamboo could be considered an attractive form of biomass, not only because it grows quickly and efficiently, but also because of its ability to absorb carbon and pollutants from the air. Bamboo can be used to “absor[b] large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere”. Within 7 years, “newly planted bamboo sequesters up to 2 tonnes of CO₂”. This means that “[c]ompared to pine, bamboo can absorb up to five times more CO₂”. Beyond this “bamboo absorbs pollutants from the air, helping to improve air quality”.^[xxxi]

Therefore, bamboo is a biomass source for energy production with a high potential for energy companies across the value chain — in production, storage, distribution, or elsewhere in the energy network. First, its short life cycle, dense growth, and low input requirements can make it an economically competitive energy source to produce and export.^[xxxii] Secondly, the transport from bamboo-producing countries to the EU is considered to be technically and economically feasible, as well as sustainable.^[xxxiii] Thirdly, the energy generated from bamboo biomass takes place centrally, different from solar panels as a renewable energy source. As a result, the renewable energy generated from bamboo is better configured with energy grids worldwide, leading to less capacity challenges on national energy grids.

The potential of bamboo for the energy sector is significant, and the material can play a significant role in the future of global energy generation. Ultimately, it is up to “international cooperation between experts and stakeholders of many disciplines along the supply chain” to convert bamboo into “a sustainable biocommodity for future generations”.^[xxxiv]

Learn more about the energy transition by downloading the TransitionED app. Our next newsletter will explore the changing role of the Global South in the critical raw materials market. If you want to be notified when it comes out, please subscribe to our mailing list.

About the authors

Teun Bastiaans studied sustainable development at Utrecht University. His interests include geopolitics, human-nature relations, and political ecology. Teun has conducted research on local economic incentives for farmers producing bamboo in the Eje Cafetero (Colombia), and on urban water security in Mexico City (Mexico). In the past, he has also collaborated with Palsa & Pulk to develop an interactive tool on the lifecycles of EV batteries.

Christine Nikander is the founder of the environmental and social sustainability consultancy, Palsa & Pulk. She frequently speaks and writes about the environmental and human rights issues that arise through global supply chains, the energy transition, and the mining of critical raw minerals. Christine studied law at the universities of Columbia (New York), Edinburgh (Scotland), and Leiden (the Netherlands). She has been writing The E-Waste Column weekly since 2022 and she co-created The E-Waste Learning Hub that was launched in September 2025.

About Palsa & Pulk

Palsa & Pulk is an environmental and social sustainability consultancy. It provides compliance, governance, policy, and strategic advice to its clients. The consultancy’s work is mostly focused on supply chain governance, the just transition, circular economy, and human rights.

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^[i] Green Earth Group, What kind of nature benefits does bamboo offer?, https://www.green.earth/blog/what-kind-of-nature-benefits-does-bamboo-offer (29.10.2025).

^[ii] Archila-Santos, H. F., Ansell, M. P., & Walker, P. (2012). Low carbon construction using Guadua bamboo in Colombia. Key Engineering Materials, 517, 127–134. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.517.127

^[iii] Green Earth Group, What kind of nature benefits does bamboo offer?, https://www.green.earth/blog/what-kind-of-nature-benefits-does-bamboo-offer (29.10.2025).

^[iv] Green Earth Group, What kind of nature benefits does bamboo offer?, https://www.green.earth/blog/what-kind-of-nature-benefits-does-bamboo-offer (29.10.2025); https://bamboou.com/5-interesting-myths-about-bamboo-debunked/

^[v] Green Earth Group, What kind of nature benefits does bamboo offer?, https://www.green.earth/blog/what-kind-of-nature-benefits-does-bamboo-offer (29.10.2025).

^[vi] Amjad, A. I. (2024). Bamboo fibre: A sustainable solution for textile manufacturing. Advances in Bamboo Science, 7, 100088. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bamboo.2024.100088; Kuok, K. K., Bin Bakri, M. K., Chan, C. P., Rahman, M. R., Namakka, M., Said, K. A. M., Yun, C. M., and Rahman, M. M. (2024). “Merits of bamboo utilization in earth preservation, water, and wastewater treatment: A mini review,” BioResources 19(2), 3921-3944.

^[vii] Gopan, G., Krishnan, R., & Arun, M. (2024). Review of bamboo biomass as a sustainable energy. International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies, 19, 2733–2745. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijlct/ctae237

^[viii] Adier, M. F. V., Sevilla, M. E. P., Valerio, D. N. R., & Ongpeng, J. M. C. (2023). Bamboo as Sustainable Building Materials: A Systematic Review of Properties, Treatment Methods, and Standards. In Buildings (Vol. 13, Issue 10). https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13102449; Velázquez Narváez, O., Augusto, J., Morales, S., Villanueva, D., & Falconi, C. (2022). Incentivos Financieros y Non Financieros, Mechanismos de Implementacion para Estimular el Uso y Acceso a los Mercados con Productos de Bambú en los Departamentos del Caquetá y El Meta. In INBAR (INBAR). https://riuci.cdn.prismic.io/riuci/b95d9dfc71e9-4097-a33e-%0936fbaf5d4582_2022+Incentivos+financieros+y+no+financieros+Colombia.pdf

^[ix] Eurostat (2024). Renewables account for 24.5% of EU energy use in 2023. Eurostat. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20241219-3

^[x] Ang, T., Salem, M., Kamarol, M., Das, H. S., Nazari, M. A., & Prabaharan, N. (2022). A comprehensive study of renewable energy sources: Classifications, challenges and suggestions. Energy Strategy Reviews, 43, 100939. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2022.100939

[xi] International Energy Agency, Bioenergy, https://www.iea.org/energy-system/renewables/bioenergy (29.10.2025).

[xii] Awogbemi, O., & Desai. D. A. (2025). Harnessing the potentials of bamboo as a sustainable feedstock for bioenergy production. Advances in Bamboo Science, 12, 100173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bamboo.2025.100173

^[xiii] Montaño, C. D., Zwart, R., Camargo-García, J. C., Londoño, X., & Verheggen, B. (2013). Torrefied bamboo for the import of sustainable biomass from Colombia. Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278016080_Torrefied_Bamboo_for_the_Import_of_Sustainable_Biomass_from_Colombia

^[xiv] Sterman, J., Moomaw, W., Rooney-Varga, J. N., & Siegel, L. (2022). Does wood bioenergy help or harm the climate? Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 78(3), 128–138. https://doi.org/10.1080/00963402.2022.2062933

^[xv] Nguyen, H. T. G., Lyttek, E., Lal, P., Wieczerak, T., & Luong, T. (2022). Evaluating loblolly pine bioenergy development potential using AHP integrated weighted overlay and network optimization in Virginia, USA. Trees, Forests and People, 8, 100271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tfp.2022.100271; Johansson, T., & Karačić, A. (2011). Increment and biomass in hybrid poplar and some practical implications. Biomass and Bioenergy, 35(5), 1925–1934. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2011.01.040

^[xvi] Bhardwaj, Rana, S., Kumar, D., & Sharma, P. (2022). Nutritive value of tender shoots of different bamboo species in relation to harvesting height in mid-hills of north-western Himalayas. Applied Food Research, 3(1), 100244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.afres.2022.100244

^[xvii] Rathod, S., Parab, A., Tamkhane, A., Neharkar, A., Patil, A., & Gayake, P. (2022, December 11). A comparative study of bamboo reinforced vs steel reinforced concrete structure. IJRASET: International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology. https://doi.org/10.22214/ijraset.2022.48070

^[xviii] Isukuru, E. J., Ogunkeyede, A. O., Adebayo, A. A., & Uruejoma, M. F. (2023). Potentials of bamboo and its ecological benefits in Nigeria. Advances in Bamboo Science, 4, 100032. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bamboo.2023.100032

^[xix] Awogbemi, O., & Desai, D. A. (2025). Harnessing the potentials of bamboo as a sustainable feedstock for bioenergy production. Advances in Bamboo Science, 100173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bamboo.2025.100173

^[xx] Xu, Q., Liang, C., Chen, J., Li, Y., Qin, H., & Fuhrmann, J. J. (2019). Rapid bamboo invasion (expansion) and its effects on biodiversity and soil processes +. Global Ecology and Conservation, 21, e00787. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00787

^[xxi] Personal communication with Juan Carlos Camargo Garcia, Professor on bamboo systems at Universidad Tecnologica de Pereira, Colombia (11 July 2025).

^[xxii] Green Earth Group, What kind of nature benefits does bamboo offer?, https://www.green.earth/blog/what-kind-of-nature-benefits-does-bamboo-offer (29.10.2025).

^[xxiii] Eifion Rees, Bamboo: can it live up to the 'green gold' hype?, https://theecologist.org/2011/aug/30/bamboo-can-it-live-green-gold-hype (29.10.2025).

^[xxiv] Eifion Rees, Bamboo: can it live up to the 'green gold' hype?, https://theecologist.org/2011/aug/30/bamboo-can-it-live-green-gold-hype (29.10.2025).;

^[xxv] Dovetail Partners, Bamboo Products and Their Environmental Impacts: Revisited, https://www.dovetailinc.org/portfoliodetail.php?id=5e2f0df258c14 (29.10.2025).

^[xxvi] Dovetail Partners, Bamboo Products and Their Environmental Impacts: Revisited, https://www.dovetailinc.org/portfoliodetail.php?id=5e2f0df258c14 (29.10.2025).

^[xxvii] Dovetail Partners, Bamboo Products and Their Environmental Impacts: Revisited, https://www.dovetailinc.org/portfoliodetail.php?id=5e2f0df258c14 (29.10.2025).

^[xxviii] Dovetail Partners, Bamboo Products and Their Environmental Impacts: Revisited, https://www.dovetailinc.org/portfoliodetail.php?id=5e2f0df258c14 (29.10.2025).

^[xxix] European Commission, Frequently Asked Questions Implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation Version 3 – October 2024, https://share.google/r7SmjaHO6Nreo78Ye, p. 25

^[xxx] Input received from interviews with landowners in Colombia, stated in Bastiaans, T. (2025) From Bamboo to Benefits: Exploring the Leverage Points for Equitable PES Schemes in Colombia’s Eje Cafetero. Utrecht University. https://studenttheses.uu.nl/handle/20.500.12932/50628

^[xxxi] Green Earth Group, What kind of nature benefits does bamboo offer?, https://www.green.earth/blog/what-kind-of-nature-benefits-does-bamboo-offer (29.10.2025).

^[xxxii] DataIntelo. (2024). Bamboo biomass pellet power plant market research report 2033. https://dataintelo.com/report/bamboo-biomass-pellet-power-plant-study-market; Montaño, C. D., & van Dam, J. E. G. (2021). Potential of bamboo for renewable energy: Main issues and technology options. International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation (INBAR). https://www.inbar.int/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/October-2021_Potential-of-Bamboo-for-Renewable-Energy.pdf

^[xxxiii] Montaño, C. D., Zwart, R., Camargo-García, J. C., Londoño, X., & Verheggen, B. (2013). Torrefied bamboo for the import of sustainable biomass from Colombia. Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278016080_Torrefied_Bamboo_for_the_Import_of_Sustainable_Biomass_from_Colombia

^[xxxiv] Dam, Jan E.G. van. 2018. “Bamboo Innovations for Sustainable Biocommodity Development.” In Global Bamboo and Rattan Congress (BARC). Beijing, China.