The search for alternative fuels is becoming increasingly common due to exhausting conventional energy sources. One of the solutions is to manage waste from agricultural and food production for energy purposes. The aim of the study was to compare possible energy gains from the use of apple pomace as a fuel in two variants. The first option consisted in converting waste into solid fuel for combustion, while the second option included methane fermentation of pomace and the use of the resulting fermentation for combustion. The research was carried out to determine the energy usefulness of apple pomace extruders, among others. combustion heat, calorific value and biogas efficiency. The amount of energy that can be obtained from biogas resulting from the decomposition of pomace as well as from the post-process fermentation was also determined. Energy expenditures necessary for the processes that transform the raw material into fuel were simulated. Then an energy balance was carried out which showed that the fermentation of pomace and the combustion of the fermented pulp, taking into account the losses, resulted in an energy gain of 4.03 MJ⋅kg-1 (1.12 kWh⋅kg-1) higher than the use of pomace for combustion alone.