Skip to main content

Solution

Biomass

Supporting more than 650 gigawatts of renewable energy projects worldwide, our team of global specialists understands the challenges you face and offers tailored risk management solutions at every stage of your project.

Comprehensive solutions

Access to global insurance markets, bespoke policy wording, and risk allocation strategies that suit your project partners and stakeholders.

Sophisticated risk modelling

Insightful data and proven proprietary modelling tools give you control, and help optimize your total cost of risk.

Deep expertise

Our advisors, engineers, brokers, claims advocates, and finance and commercial specialists will help you manage complexity and stay in control of your project.

The breadth of biomass technologies underscores the diversity of risk management issues to be considered by plant owners. Focus areas include:

  • Location, design, and layout.
    • Urban or industrial locations: Space limitations may lead to suboptimal plant layout. Inadequate fire protection and poor separation from combustible feedstock storage are common issues.
    • Rural or agricultural locations: This can mean slow incident identification and response as well as greater exposure to malicious damage and losses. These sites also may face greater exposure to natural perils, especially flood and wildfire risks.
  • Feedstock quality and security. Feedstock is an essential input for biomass plants, and key considerations include:
    • Shortages: This may be specific to an individual supply source or a more global issue, such as a poor harvest or shipping restrictions, that could increase feedstock prices and impact operating margins.
    • Security – Overdependence on one or two suppliers, or limited scope to source suitable alternatives, may compromise biomass supplies.
    • Off-specification – Contaminated or lower-quality feedstock may disrupt plant operations or reduce plant efficiency.
  • Contractors and maintenance. The technology range and often modest scale of biomass plants mean that less experienced and more generalist EPC and O&M contractors may be employed. This could lead to:
    • Poor project execution: Deviations from design specifications, and delays due to re-work or incidents, pose long-term consequences for operational efficiency if defects and errors are not identified or rectified.
    • Inadequate O&M: –Poor operating practices and reactive, rather than preventative, maintenance can cause damage or disruption.
  • Insurability. The loss record for the biomass sector has generally been poor. Insurance considerations include:
    • Risk-specific characteristics — type of plant, design, technology selection, and contractor experience.
    • Warranty breadth and duration.
    • O&M arrangements, including any long-term service agreements.
    • Compliance with lender insurance requirements where project financing is involved.

See our full guide on the risk management solutions for biomass projects.

Marsh provides you with a tailored approach and comprehensive solutions

We understand that every project is unique. Our team will support you through each project milestone to optimize your risk management strategy.

Design

Position your project for success

  • Engineering support
  • Technology analysis
  • Loss modelling
  • Stakeholder management
  • Insurance budgeting

Construction

Get it built

  • Supply chain analysis
  • Health & safety strategy
  • Operational insurances
  • Hand-over to operations

Operation

Protect your assets and your business

  • Risk management framework
  • Captive strategy
  • Loss limit reviews
  • Specialist claims services
  • Decommissioning planning

Decommissioning

Close it out responsibly

  • Risk and liability review
  • Ongoing insurance

Our people

Our global renewable energy team includes insurance advisors, risk engineers, brokers, claims advocates, project finance specialists, and former industry risk managers. Contact one of our biomass specialists for support.

Michael Kolodner

Michael Kolodner

Energy & Power Leader

  • United States

Related insights