Renewables exploitation for energy production and biomass use for electricity generation. A multi-parametric literature-based review

Nowadays, the provision of viable energy production and the energy autonomy are fundamental and utmost importance issues included in drawing the national strategic plan of both developing and developed countries. In parallel, the contentious role of fossil-based energy infrastructures, in the light of their high external costs of operation/use and the environmental depletion, have oriented current scientific research to find and exploit other energy sources that comply with increased pressure towards energy production, energy autonomy, and energy safety. Nevertheless, these preconditions of any energy mix introduced signify the importance of developing mature renewable energy technologies, which could enable sound and credible exploitation of any new-coming energy source, in the light of socio-economic acceptability and environmental sustainability. In parallel, the socio-economic traits, the know-how status, the technological maturity, the geo-morphologic conditions, and the well-being aspirations of each nation to its citizens consist also significant motives of energy-mix-schemes adaptation to a national level of analysis. According to the aforementioned statement, the present paper provides a four-fold overview upon: renewables’ exploitation for energy production in the global and European contexts, as well as biomass exploitation for electricity generation in a global-oriented and technology overview of the relevant literature. Conclusively, the main limitations and challenges that are derived from this four-fold literature overview, were also outlined.