Second thematic seminar: Energy Crops, Agricultural By-products and Livestock Wastes Biomass, , South East Ireland

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1 Agriculture biomass Second thematic seminar: Energy Crops, Agricultural By-products and Livestock Wastes Biomass, , South East Ireland This Seminar examined current and future bioenergy development from crops specifically grown for that purpose, from by-products generated by agricultural practices and from the biomass of livestock. The seminar included local and international expert speakers and was held in S.E. Ireland, due to its great research and entrepreneurial activities in the field, as demonstrated by the site visits to the biomass boilers at the Research Centre as well as the Stirling CHP Unit and Biomass Combustion Research. Apart from the types and forms of biomass and livestock used as raw material, the various forms of energy production were presented and analyzed, while great importance was also attributed to the elaboration and production of biofuels, as well as to the boilers used in these processes. 1. Organisations involved. External biomass experts involved in the second seminar are presented in this chapter. Teagasc - is the agriculture and food development authority in Ireland. Its mission is to support science-based innovation in the agri-food sector and the broader bioeconomy that will underpin profitability, competitiveness and sustainability. Kilogen is a limited company based in Kilkenny (in South-East Ireland) which consists of 40 farmers/shareholders who are energy crop growers, growing mainly miscanthus and willow. Kilogen s main business is to install large multi-fuel boilers, to co-fire biomass in power stations, to sell heat through ESCO s and to contract local farmers into long-term fixed price energy contracts with local end users. It also aims to develop Biomass CHP installations and a second generation ethanol plant. Estonian University of Life Sciences is the only university in Estonia whose priorities in academic and research activities provide for the sustainable development of natural resources necessary for human existence as well as the preservation of heritage and habitat. Fondazione Edmund Mach promotes and carries out research, scientific experiments, education and training activities as well as providing technical assistance and services to companies. These activities are aimed at promoting cultural and socio-economic growth in the agricultural sector and at developing the forestry and agro-alimentary systems, with particular regard for the environment and the safeguard of the territory of the Trentino region. Abengoa Bioenergy is a leader in the development of new technologies for the production of biofuels and chemical bioproducts and the sustainability of raw materials, dedicating a large quantity of resources into research work. 1

2 2. Presentations. The first session showed the situation of bioenergy in Ireland and agriculture related aspects. The second session concentrated on presentations from the project partners on their experiences. In total, there were seven presentations. The seminar was opened by Cllr. Willie Quinn, Cathaoirleach of the South-East Regional Authority who, in welcoming everyone, outlined that energy policy has become increasingly important in today s society and ensuring security of sustainable and competitive energy supplies and reducing harmful greenhouse gas emission levels are to the forefront of the public policy and political agenda. Barry Caslin, Bioenergy Specialist with Teagasc gave a detailed presentation titled Irish Bioenergy Policy and Agricultural Development. He spoke about the policy background for bioenergy in Ireland and outlined the targets set out in the Energy White Paper and Bioenergy Action Plan. He stated that the 2020 demand target for biomass is set at 53 M GJ (PJ) or 1,265 ktoe. He outlined the miscanthus and willow resource in the country and addressed the future issues facing the sector, including imports, sustainability, security of supply and fluctuating prices. He then spoke about current sectoral developments, touching on topics such as pure plant oil (PPO), biodiesel, solid biofuels, anaerobic digestion CHP and the 30% co-firing target. Bill Madigan, Director of Kilogen Limited, next provided a case study of their green energy services company which represents a good practice example of the promotion and use of biomass in South-East Ireland. He explained that Kilogen is a private company owned by its energy growers producing green energy fuels and also designing and implementing cost effective green heat services for different markets. During his presentation he spoke about land identification, rhizome sourcing and planting, crop harvesting, storage, distribution and sale and gave examples of power stations and boilers that their products serve. Silvia Silvestri, Head of Biomass and Renewable Energy Unit with the Edmund Mach Foundation from the region of Trento, Italy provided the first transational experience with her presentation titled Agronomical and Energy Exploitation of Agricultural and Livestock Biomass in Trentino. She introduced her region and spoke about biomass availability in the Trento region. In setting the context, she outlined the Provincial Law n.5/2010 Trentino Zero emission and the new energy-environmental plan for Trentino and said that the integration of the best available technological solutions will permit the best results to be gained and overcome the limitations of each solution. She concluded by providing two examples of projects from her region, the Oil Free Zone Project and the Recovery of Pruning Waste for Energy Use Project. Next to speak was Hans Gulliksson from the Energy Agency for South East Sweden with his presentation Region of Southeast Sweden, Biomass from Agriculture. Hans introduced the agency he works for and then proceeded to speak about the biofuels market, agricultural energy crops, agricultural and food industry byproducts, raw material sources for pellet production and ethical issues around the use of agriculture for bioenergy as against food production. He illustrated that bioenergy is now larger than oil in terms of final energy use in Sweden (figure below represents 2009 figures). 2

3 He told the audience that in his region biomass from forestry is dominating and there are policies and strategies in place for this. In terms of biomass from the agriculture sector, he stated that there is still a need for development in the sector, but that it is provided for in regional energy policy, however, up to now it has not been implemented in reality. He concluded by focusing on what is needed to promote and drive biomass in the region and how to link this to the agricultural sector. Elis Vollmer from the Estonian University of Life Sciences presented on Estonian Bioenergy Crops: Current and potential usage. She gave a detailed overview of the different sources of bioenergy crops in Estonia, from energy hay varieties for biogas and combustion such as reed canary grass and cock s foot, to starch crops and grains for ethanol production (like maize and Jerusalem artichoke), to oil crops for biofuel production (examples being oilseed rape, sunflower and flax). Beatriz Alonso of Abengoa Bioenergy next presented on Raw Material Certification and began by introducing the organisation, which is a global company employing over 26,000 persons. She said that Abengoa Bioenergy is a world leader in the development of 2 nd generation ethanol. She pointed to the demanding EU legal framework for raw material used in biofuel production (Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC) and said compliance with requirements must be demonstrated. She then introduced Abengoa Bioenergy s RED Bioenergy Sustainability Assurance (RBSA) Voluntary Scheme which aims to guarantee the sustainability of all its operations. She stated that RBSA players, including those in the biomass supply chain, must comply with the requirements of the Scheme. She concluded by outlining some of the technological solutions Abengoa Bioenergy has developed in order to help their supply chain comply with the requirements of the EU Directive. The final transnational experience presentation was given by Dimitris Kouras from Prefecture of Western Macedonia Region. He provided, firstly, an overview of the region and then of the Greek energy market. He outlined the biomass resources available from agricultural and forest residues and energy crops (mainly cardoon, also called artichoke thistle). He informed the attendance about a pilot program to produce biomass fuel for electricity generation from cardoon in Kozani and of future plans, including the construction of a small biomass fired heating plant in Grevena (50 MW thermal heat). 3. Study visits. The seminar attendees were then taken to a number of site visits on the grounds of the Teagasc Oakpark Research Campus. These included: - Bio-energy Crop Production, Harvesting and Storage Energy crops such as willow, miscanthus, switch grass, reed canary grass and hemp are grown at the Oak Park Research Centre and trial work will continue on these crops on agronomical aspects such as weed control, bioremediation and crop nutrition. Work has already been completed on quality issues with Rape Methyl Ester (Biodiesel) and Pure Plant Oil (PPO). Other research work includes wood and crop residue densification through pelleting, together with quality and combustion trials. 3

4 - Biomass Boilers, Oak Park Buildings A boiler of 100 kw t fueled by wood pellets which heats offices and research buildings. A second boiler with a power of 300 kw t. It works with wood chips and miscanthus chips could also be used as fuel. It heats the administration building at Oak Park - Micro-cogeneration unit, stirling CHP Unit Installation of 37,5 kw e electrical power and 140 kw t heat power, which work using biomass as fuel. - Biomass Combustion Research. 4

5 4. Key aspects from each region. The following section of the report has been developed from information provided by the project partners in individual regional-specific reports. In the following tables agri-biomass (energy crops, agricultural bio-products and livestock wastes biomass) resources in the different regions participating in the BIO-EN-AREA project are shown. Region Total Biomass, GWh/y Heat from GWh/y production biomass, Electricty production from biomass, GWh/y Biofuels for transport, GWh/y Castila y Leon Spain, South-East Ireland Western Macedonia, Greece , , N/A 0 0 Tartu, Estonia Southeast Sweden ,5 Trento, Italy 363 0,94 2,5 0 Fig Energy crops, agricultural and livestock biomass current situation in BIO-EN-AREA regions 5

6 The second table is about the main characteristics and the future developments for each region of the BIO-EN- AREA project in the agri-biomass field. The following table indicates the main characteristics of the different regions in terms of agricultural residues or energy crops, livestock waste biomass and possible exploitation for energy purposes, as well as, specific projects which are scheduled or being studied in the areas concerned. REGION Main characteristics Future developments Castilla y León, Spain - Agriculture biomass represents 42% from the total potential of the region, including energy crops and agriculture residues. - Most agriculture residues are not used for energy purposes but, there is an 18 MW e plant for electricity generation from cereal straw in Briviesca (Burgos) that produces 120 GWh/year from 102,000t/year as resource. - Livestock biomass, with 18 million t/year means 25% of the total biomass potential. - There is no developed market of livestock biomass towards energy installations.there are some plants where livestock biomass is found at high concentration levels, especially pig liquid manure. The heat surplus from cogeneration engines, used to produce electricity from natural gas is used to dry it. - There are 2 plants using biogas for electricity generation. One has 250 kwe of power and treats swine liquid manure from farms situated in Soria. The 2 nd case is a co-digestion plant with 500 kwe potential for biogas, treating more than 15,000 t/year of manure, residues from slaughterhouse and agrifood industries and other concentrates generated in livestock farms in the province of Salamanca. - Stimulate the energy demand coming from farming residues. - Promote energy valorisation methods which are profitable to the agrifood industry biodegradable sub-products. - To strengthen measures in the bioenergy plan to improve the livestock biomass management. - Analyse and evaluate the valorisation options for these resources. - To support small and medium size plants for cogeneration with biogas associated to one or more farms. - The regional bioenergy plan foresees a regional woody energy crops Programme to increase its production at market scale. South-East Ireland - The South-East Region produces 33.7% of the nation s agricultural solids, 18.6% of the nation s cattle, and 20.4% of the nation s pigs. - Overall the South-East Region - Grants are now being provided by the Government to encourage the growing of SRC willow and miscanthus for the generation of energy. 6

7 produces 28% of the nation s energy resources from agricultural byproducts. - Only 15.43% of the State s agricultural land is contained within the South East Region. Western Macedonia, Greece Tartu, Estonia This Region produces 6.46% of the available residue quantities of Greece, which constitutes 6.68% of their energy potential on dry basis. The vast majority of agricultural biomass, is either burnt in the field or used as an organic fertilizer and it is not used for the production of electricity. The majority of residues do not have stable prices and as a result, it is impossible to establish a mechanized system for their collection or for the formation of a supply chain that would encourage the development of an integrated biomass market. The Region of Western Macedonia can potentially play an important role in biofuel production due to the electricity power plants that operate in its territory, consuming large quantities of liquid and fossil fuel every year. There is not significant energy crop production to date. The most important animal population that contributes in this goal are cattle, sheep and goats. Despite the fact that the potential of animal waste is characterized as very important, until now there is no farm biogas unit in existence. There is a total of 135,000 ha of unused potential agricultural land, which accounts for 27% of the total agricultural land in the region. It is not possible for the process to offer immediate results, since it requires longterm planning and coordination of all stakeholders. One of the set goals should be the involvement of PPC in pilot production programs as well as the appropriate information of farmers that could be a part in the supply chain and expand the cultivation of energy crops. In the future, energy crops can constitute a major source of biomass for lignite units, but the stakeholders have to make serious steps towards the efficient management of the supply chain of this type of biomass. Co-firing in the existing lignite-fired power plan is a promising option to absorb all the biomass production. The unused agricultural land used for biogas substrate production. The land currently used as grassland only, used for producing biogas substrate. Straw and reed can be utilized for heat energy production. 7

8 South East Sweden - Not such a large agriculture sector, mainly quite small scale and based on cattle. - Biogas from agriculture sector has started to grow. - Some straw and grass is used. - More difficult to use than forest biomass. - Will remain at quite a low level for heat. - More for biogas to be upgraded to biomethane from manure and grass. - Willow and salix can be a part of the production mix to grow. Trento, Italy - The extreme fragmentation of plots makes it difficult to install plants for biogas production. - Main crops pruning: grape and apple. It is the most important biomass source, 2.5 t/ha. - Livestock biomass generally small farms; potential of biomass extremely fragmented (590,000 t/year of manure). - There are legislative obstacles for co-digestion of waste biomass that would increase biogas production. No incentives. Only one biogas plant. - Odor problems (in particular for the biogas from manure): shortage of sites away from residential or otherwise built-up areas, given the particular topography of the whole territory (mountainous). - Waste from food processing and wine industry still considered waste (not biomass fuel) that hinders the development of energy use. This form of waste treatment plants does not enjoy incentives. - Lack of energy crops on land. - There is 1 CHP biogas plant from pigs manure (150 KW rated thermal input) under construction. - Rural Development Plan , including measures to promote manure treatment plants and other biomass to produce energy for selfconsumption. 8

9 6. Conclusions The possibilities of energy crops, agricultural and livestock residues as biomass sources were analysed during the second thematic seminar and the options for a better energy use of these were highlighted. The diversity of origin and use possibilities was illustrated during the experts presentations. The Teagasc Oakpark Research centre was chosen as the location to celebrate the event. Their experience in the agricultural sector served to establish the perfect framework to see real practices to test energy options. Participants in the event were taken on a number of site visits guided by the research expert personnel through the centre installations, showing experimental techniques in biomass boilers and test fields with alternative crops. One of the main objectives planned was the knowledge and sector approaches exchange. An assessment and conclusions summary was made: - The agricultural sector is a biomass source with great potential but not assessed most of the time. Nowadays, its energy use is small and it demands progressive and sustainable development. - Planning for the energy use must consider a variety of origins. The biomass coming from agricultural residues (herbaceous and woody), livestock wastes and the agrifood industry can contribute to the global energy structure. - Energy crops offer several alternatives. Biofuels production and other products having an energy use can be complemented by bioproducts with high added value and pharmacy use, biotechnology or chemical industry which are still in a phase where experimentation, research and innovation are very important. - Compliance of sustainability criteria is fundamental to produce biofuels. This includes the reduction of greenhouse effect gas, the biomass supply chain or the biodiversity awareness. - Biogas as an energy resource, easily managed, should be considered during agricultural and livestock wastes treatment. It involves environmental benefits from an adequate waste treatment and economical and social advantages in rural areas. All the presentations highlighted the work that has been developed and achieved in this area, but also served to show that it is an area with considerable potential into the future. Some BIO-EN-AREA regions are more advanced than others, and some have the necessary resources/inputs more readily available. Introducing bioenergy in the agricultural sector allows for diversifying the products final uses. Energy transformation plants can generate jobs creation and new business activities associated to supply and logistics of raw material, operation and maintenance, etc. The development of energy crops needs to comply with EU provisions. Studies are required to present the adaptation of species to climate and soil conditions in the regions as well as the improvement of the final products conversion techniques. During the elaboration of a regional bioenergy plan a complete resources assessment should be developed for agricultural and livestock sectors, including all the possibilities of energy use and involved agents. The seminar, ultimately though, illustrated clearly that biomass from energy crops, agricultural by-products and livestock wastes can make a very valuable and worthwhile contribution to the waste to energy mix. 9