Powering the Dominican Republic with Biomass

The Dominican Republic is advancing toward a cleaner, more resilient energy future. With targets to generate 25% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025 and 30% by 2030, the country is actively diversifying its energy mix and reducing its dependence on imported fossil fuels, a vulnerability that exposes it to global price fluctuations and supply disruptions.

Progress has already been made. In 2020, installed renewable energy capacity stood at 555.9 megawatts. By December 2024, that figure more than doubled to 1,396.1 megawatts, driven primarily by the expansion of solar and wind energy.

While solar and wind dominate the conversation, another renewable resource deserves greater attention: biomass energy. With significant untapped potential, biomass could play a vital role in supporting the country’s clean energy transition.

What Is Biomass, and Why Is It Relevant?

Biomass is generated from organic materials such as agricultural residues, energy crops, forestry by-products, animal waste, and urban organic waste. Given its strong agricultural base, the Dominican Republic is well positioned to convert these materials into clean, locally sourced power.

By-products like sugarcane bagasse, rice husks, coffee pulp, and livestock waste, produced by sectors already thriving nationwide, could be used to generate electricity to power homes with renewable, stable, and homegrown energy.

Biomass also offers broader benefits: reducing landfill pressure, creating rural employment, and advancing a circular economy. It aligns with national priorities and builds on existing strengths—yet remains underutilized.

As of October 2022, the National Interconnected Electric System (SENI) reported 1,325 megawatts of renewable capacity: 313 MW from solar, 366 MW from wind, 616 MW from hydro, and only 30 MW from biomass, according to the Ministry of Energy.

‍Barriers to Biomass Expansion

Despite its potential, biomass remains a minor contributor to the national energy mix.While estimates suggest the country could produce up to 1.6 million tons of biomass annually, most of this capacity remains untapped. That biomass could generate roughly 640,000–1,067,000 MWh per year, equivalent to 240–610 MW of installed capacity, depending on efficiency and utilization rates. Assuming an average Dominican household consumes about 200 kWh per month (≈ 2,400 kWh per year), this potential energy output could power approximately 267,000 to 445,000 homes annually.

By comparison, as of September 2023, the Dominican Republic had ten wind farms, nine solar plants, and only one operational biomass facility. ‍

Several factors constrain growth, including:

• Limited investment incentives

• Inadequate infrastructure for feedstock collection and processing

• Lack of technical training and technology transfer

• A regulatory framework still under development

• Investor preference for lower-risk options like solar and wind

Although the National Bioenergy Plan outlines a strategic path forward, implementation has been slow. To unlock the sector’s potential, stronger public-private partnerships, targeted support for farmers, clear feed-in tariffs, and investment in local capacity are needed.

Beyond agricultural residues, which can be seasonal and inconsistent, there is a larger opportunity: using marginal and degraded land to grow dedicated energy crops.

According to data shared by the Dominican Republic at the 2023 UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), roughly 15% of the country’s land—around 7,200 km²—is degraded. Of that, 10% (approximately 4,960 km²) suffers from severe degradation, according to FAO.

These lands, while unsuitable for food production, are ideal for cultivating C4 grasses, fast-growing, drought-tolerant species that thrive in poor soils. These grasses can help restore soil health, prevent erosion, sequester carbon, and provide a reliable year-round biomass supply.

The Economic, Environmental, and Social Benefits of Biomass

Economic Impact: Empowering Rural Economies

Biomass energy can strengthen energy security and stimulate rural development. As a widely available domestic resource, it reduces fuel imports and supports the national trade balance. Cultivating and processing biomass creates stable rural jobs, each hectare typically supports one full-time position, while also driving growth in agricultural and industrial sectors.

Supported by incentives under Law 57-07 and increased demand for sustainable supply chains, biomass presents a competitive option for local businesses and international partners.

Environmental Gains: Managing Waste and Cutting Emissions

Biomass addresses two major environmental challenges: organic waste and greenhouse gas emissions. Instead of allowing agricultural and livestock waste to release methane as it decomposes, these materials can be used to generate clean electricity and heat.

Biomass serves as a bridge between waste management and renewable energy, but sustainability depends on responsible sourcing, forest conservation, and soil stewardship.

Land Restoration: Regenerative Agriculture in Practice

Biomass cultivation can play a key role in ecological restoration. When grown through regenerative practices such as agroforestry, energy crops like C4 grasses help rebuild soil health, enhance biodiversity, and sequester carbon from the atmosphere. Planted on degraded lands, these perennial grasses can be harvested to produce solid biofuels—replacing imported fossil fuels while simultaneously restoring ecosystems and strengthening rural resilience.

Biomass in Action: Success Stories

The Dominican sugar industry demonstrates biomass in practice. Many mills already use bagasse, the fibrous by-product of sugarcane to produce electricity and steam, with some exporting surplus power to the national grid.

Similarly, biogas initiatives in the Dominican Republic show how farms can convert manure into electricity and fertilizer, creating closed-loop systems at the local level.

Jord provides another impactful model by cultivating high-yield energy crops on marginal or degraded lands, producing sustainable biofuels while restoring ecosystems and creating income opportunities in rural communities

Conclusion: A Strategic Resource for a Resilient Future

Biomass energy represents a unique convergence of opportunity, necessity, and national strength for the Dominican Republic. It is more than a complementary energy source—it is a strategic asset capable of addressing key national priorities: reducing fossil fuel dependence, revitalizing rural economies, managing organic waste, and restoring degraded land.

Unlike intermittent renewables such as solar and wind, biomass provides reliable, dispatchable power that strengthens grid stability. It is locally sourced, job-generating, and inherently circular—perfectly suited to the Dominican Republic’s agricultural economy and environmental goals. Its benefits extend beyond energy: biomass enables land regeneration, climate adaptation, and value creation across multiple sectors.

The country already has the resources, technical expertise, and policy framework to expand this sector. What’s needed now is action: targeted investments, supportive regulations, stronger public-private collaboration, and a national commitment to scale what’s already working.

Success stories like Jord demonstrate what’s possible. By transforming underused land into sustainable energy crop plantations, Jord is not only producing high-quality biomass fuel—it’s building a replicable model of regeneration, energy security, and rural empowerment.

Discover how Jord is leading the way in sustainable biomass production. Learn more about our renewable fuel solutions and explore how biomass can power your operations—and the Dominican Republic’s future.

The potential is real. The infrastructure is growing. The moment to act is now. Let biomass move from the sidelines to a central role in the country’s clean energy strategy.