BioSustain - Study on benchmarking biomass sustainability criteria for energy purposes

27.09.2010 - 31.12.2011
Forschungsförderungsprojekt
Bio-energy - i.e. energy from biomass, currently covering more than half of the overall renewable energy deployment in the European Union, is also expected to be the key contributor for reaching Europe's commitment of 20% renewable energy by 2020. To assure a sustainable provision and use, the Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC) includes binding sustainability requirements for biofuels (transport) and bio-liquids (electricity, heating and cooling) - but none for gaseous and solid biomass. So far, the European Commission formulated only recommendations for Member States to develop sustainability schemes, mainly for imports (COM(2010)11). The aim of the study is to compare and contrast national rules and regulation related to biomass sustainability and to determine the impact of these rules on biomass availability and cost, with a view to determining whether there are impacts on biomass trade within the EU and to and from the EU. The study will consider only rules affecting the use of solid and gaseous biomass (agricultural crops & residues, forestry, wood-processing industries, organic waste) in electricity, heating and cooling, as far as these rules and regulations are additional to or stricter than European requirements. Thereby, rules and regulations in draft form will also be considered. The present study will provide background analysis for the forthcoming Commission¿s report on whether national schemes have sufficiently addressed the sustainability related to the use of biomass from inside and outside the EU, whether these schemes have led to barriers to trade and barriers to the development of the bio-energy sector. The project team, consisting of seven European research institutions, is led by the Belgian research institution VITO. TU Vienna / Energy Economics Group is responsible for the model-based impact assessment at the national / European scale.

Personen

Projektleiter_in

Projektmitarbeiter_innen

Institut

Grant funds

  • European Commission (EU) Other EU Research Initiative European Commission Call identifier ENER Application number ENER/C1/495-2009/SI2.572581

Forschungsschwerpunkte

  • Efficient Utilisation of Material Resources: 100%

Schlagwörter

DeutschEnglisch
Nachhaltigkeitsustainability
Biomassebiomass

Publikationen