Subscribe to RSS-FeedFinal Conference in Brussels
The Final Conference entitled “Bioenergy planning in EU regions” was held in Brussels on Wednesday, October 5, 2011. This event examined the conclusions of three projects aimed at Bioenergy Planning, namely BEn, BioEnerGIS and MAKE-IT-BE.
The conference attracted a number of distinguished speakers, including:
- Romana JORDAN CIZELJ - MEP, Member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
- Giulio VOLPI – DG Energy, Renewable Energy Policy: The importance of regions in energy planning
- Brian MEANEY - Committee of Regions Rapporteur on biomass
Emilio FONT DE MORA - Project Officer, Executive Agency for Competitiveness & Innovation (EACI) Speakers and members of the consortium for these projects explored the biomass energy register, the methodology for biomass and heat demand assessment, the BIOPOLE tool, the methodology for estimating biomass potentials and technical potentials as energy sources, and local actions for the development and production of energy from biomass. All methods were showcased thanks to the practical experience from these EU regions. The conference brought together representatives from EU institutions, national and regional administrations, research and industry, and NGOs. The conference was the meeting place for all those who have a stake in bioenergy.
The individual projects were:
The BEn project
BEn - Biomass energy register for sustainable site development for European regions
“The biomass energy register as planning and communication tool”
The local bioenergy actions in the four BEn model regions were reviewed:&nb
- Partner Umbria presented online guides & actions (CRB)
- Partner ELR presented online master plan & actions (WiN)
- Partner presented online Network & actions (RDI) 15
- Partner PGW presented online master plan & actions (IETU) 15
The BioEnerGIS project
BioEnerGIS - GIS-based decision support system aimed at a sustainable energetic exploitation of biomass at regional level
- “Biomass and heat-demand assessment: methodology and results
- “BIOPOLE: a web GIS-based DSS for planning biomass energy exploitation”
The MAKE-IT-BE project
MAKE-IT-BE – Decision-making and implementation tools for delivery of local and regional bio-energy chains
- “Methodology for estimating biomass potentials and potential technical availability as energy sources”
- “Local actions for development/production of energy from biomass” The event demonstrated that various ideas had been accumulated and that these will make possible fruitful developments
Joint Final Conference « BEn, BioEnergGIS, MAKE-IT-BE» on 5th October 2011
The three bioenergy projects BEn, BioEnerGIS and MAKE-IT-BE have taken up the challenge of bioenergy planning and dealt with sustainable strategies for strengthening regions in the renewable energy sector in forms of methodologies and tools.
The results and conclusions will be presented in the joint conference “Bioenergy planning in European regions” on 5th Ocotber 2011 in Brussel. The conference will bring together representatives from the EU institutions, national and regional administrations, NGOs and stakeholders to discuss practical experience from European regions in defining
- methodologies for biomass potential and heat-demand assessments, and
- tools and local actions for development of production of energy from biomass.
The efforts of the European Union in promoting the use of bioenergy will be presented by several distinguished speakers.
- Romana Jordan Cizelj - MEP - Member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
- Emilio Font de Mora - Project Officer - Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (EACI)
- Peter Vadasz - Major of Güssing, the Austrian
During the conference, participants are invited to test the biomass geographic information system and other online tools that support bioenergy planning in the regions.
We would like to invite you to come to Brussel and participate in this event. The participation to the conference is free of charge. Please register by filling in the form available via the following link. You can view the agenda here as well as under the registration link.
We look forward to welcome you.
Last project meeting in Perugia
The eighth meeting of the project partners took place in Perugia, the capital of the region of Umbria. The results obtained from the nearly three years of work were compiled at the Biomass Research Center CRB (Centro di Ricerca sulle Biomasse), connected to the University of Perugia, in order to coordinate publication.
The presentation of the work performed by all partners showed different results since the initial situation in the respective regions varied.
In Poland great weight was placed on the basic work on economic utilization of biomass, lobby activities among decision-makers, establishing the network and setting up information platforms for potential players.
In northeast England, by contrast, the focus was on fusion of regional, municipal and private initiatives concerning the British Biomass Energy Model Region and development of a sustainable biomass supply chain.
In ltaly – predominantly characterized by agriculture – improvement of investment support was urged through the energy plan (PER) and the plan for development of the rural region and the structure of information platforms for SMEs was improved. Pilot plants for biogas production for small and medium-sized farms were built up as the partners were able to see for themselves during a visit.
In Germany a significant increase in the installed power has already been noted since the beginning of the project due to the initiation of biomass facilities. More environmentally friendly and economical alternatives were pointed out on the basis of new cultivation methods and new types of crops (wild plants).
Tapping additional sources of energy by generating biomass on brownfield sites as well as surveys regarding further energy sinks will complement holistic, ecological use of biomass in the region.
At this juncture a word of thanks is most certainly due to the partner organization in Italy. Its selection of the site, the atmosphere prevailing there and the excellent organizational work all laid the basis for a successful meeting.
BEn Energy Register available now
One of the core objectives of BEn is to set up a regional energy register indicating regional energy sinks as well as biomass potentials for energy production in the four model regions. The envisaged regional energy register is now availabel in English and can be accessed here (a multilingual structure of the register is planned and will follow soon). We invite you to actively participate and experience its various usages.
Project Meeting in Pszczyna on March 9 and 10, 2011
Providing the background for the seventh BEn team project meeting was the town of Pszczyna, south of Katowice. This settlement was founded in the Middle Ages, has experienced many changes of rulers, and has developed to become the center of the largely agricultural region in which it is located. The late Baroque townscape and the impressive castle have been restored. This setting offered an atmosphere that helped the BEn project team achieve the goals set for this meeting.
Major milestones – such as working out the master plans for the individual regions – were discussed. This was flanked by a lively exchange about legislation affecting the conversion of biomass into energy in the individual countries. Also discussed here were the approaches and incentives with which a legal basis could be created for establishing comprehensive and sustainable use of biomass. Essential to the discussion was a comparison of the feed-in tariffs for biomass-based electricity – and for other renewable energy sources – in the individual countries. The Web-based energy register, now almost complete, was presented. It shows the major details for the four partner regions. The first day was rounded out with this presentation and the subsequent discussion about details that have yet to be worked out. The project is now in its final phase, making it possible to present some of the important results. Agreements were reached on additional events and, in particular, the final event. It is to take place in Brussels, before the European Commission.
On the second day of the BEn project meeting, the team visited a 35 kW biogas plant in an agricultural setting at the village of Studzionka. The system is “fed” with inputs – pig slurry, poultry dung and harvest wastes – collected on the farm with its 40 hectares under cultivation. The system – planned and built through the great personal commitment of the farmer and the technical consultant, Mr. Latocha – has received no government subsidies. Difficulties in reaching agreement with the public utility company were overcome in arduous negotiations. The electrical power has been fed into the public utility’s grid for a short while now.
The thermal energy liberated here is used primarily to heat the barns, the digester and the residential buildings on the farm.
The main results of the meeting were summarized in the closing discussion. Future steps and assignments in the individual regions were brought together and documented.
At this juncture a word of thanks is most certainly due to the partner organization in Poland. Its selection of the site, the atmosphere prevailing there and the excellent organizational work all laid the basis for a successful meeting.
BEn participates at FOSSGIS and European Biomass Conference
The BEn team will participate at FOSSGIS and the European Biomass Conference:
from 5 to 7 April at FOSSGIS in Heidelberg, a presentation will be held stressing the cooperation of local authorities with the research institution regarding GIS in the renewable energy planning and by joining the Fraunhofer exhibition stand at the European Biomass Conference and Exhibition from 6 to 9 June in Berlin with focus on the use of the biomass energy register.
We look forward to your visit and to an interesting exchange.
Christmas & 2012
The BEn team wishes you and your family a wonderful christmas time and a great start into the year 2012.
