Project: BIOGASACCEPTED with grant agreement number EIE/07/S

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1 Project: BIOGASACCEPTED with grant agreement number EIE/07/S Deliverable 6.1a Governance and Legislation Consequences for Biogas Promotion (6 Round Tables) Author: FNE Fondazione Nord Est Institute for Fuels and Renewable Energy July 2008 The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Communities. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

2 Round tables Scheme to follow The round tables should engage those more concerned (actually or only potentially) in biogas uses development. This way, the final result expected is likely to be a pattern to follow in each of the countries to proceed in a boosting of knowledge, acceptance and, consequently, development of biogas industrial structures. The following are the social and economic figures pointed out to define the situation and the perspectives for a short/long period action: - Politicians at a national, regional, municipal level. Delegates of the regional and national administrations can represent aggregate interests in development of biogas infrastructures and plants. At the same time, to draw a picture of legislative situation: which are the actual obstacles from the point of view of legislation, which actions can work as an incentive, which is the disposal for economic support from a regional or central administration. Regional politicians can also individuate which are the most suitable locations for new installations and which contribution can provide the regional administration in terms of economic incentives and simplification of procedures for authorizations needed. Each partner can choose between the national and regional level according to the different competences of the two levels in the terms of energy and renewable sources. From the point of view of the public acceptance, the municipal level has a fundamental role: they can refer which are the expectations of the municipalities in terms of energy prices and local services, which is the knowledge of biogas technologies. Above all, which can be the impact on the population of new biogas installations and which contribute they can offer to help the process 1. It can be considered the possibility to engage a representative of a municipality potentially suitable for biogas applications, or a politician of a municipality in which there have been protests for a projected plant. - Farmers. They can take advantage from a biogas plant selling power, selling heat, selling the substrate; they can improve the management systems of their farms and to eliminate problems of bad odors causing problems with the neighborhood; they can reduce wastes accumulation and give of their enterprise a better imagine. One important result of round tables should be a stronger knowledge of possibilities given by biogas technologies to the farmer activities. They should also be informed of the possibility of creating cooperatives to manage a biogas plant, option that would give even to small enterprises the possibility to accede to this structures 2. A direct engagement of farmer representatives would be useful. - Providers of the substrate. 1 Local population frequently tends to create many obstacles to the implementation of infrastructures, as much as they are not well informed (and well in advance) on the advantages coming from a new planned structure. This represent a major problem when local politicians try to use the public opposition to increase their personnel political consensus. 2 In Italy, entrepreneurs tend to be autonomous in their initiatives, both because of the insufficient role played by agencies (public or private) that provide services to enterprises, and for cultural reasons. Probably it s not a case cooperatives using biogas plants are quite diffused in Alto Adige/Sud Tirol, where there is a strong system of public incentives because of their special regional statute. Page 2 of 5

3 They can be farmers, an industry that produces organic wastes or a company that manages municipal wastes. The partner should choose which of them is more suitable to its round table. - Providers of biogas technologies. There are in some countries enterprises working on biogas technologies and building plants, or upgrading systems. There are also multinational actors providing these technologies like Smack Biogas or Uts. - Investors. If a good development of biogas CHP systems can be obtained from a more active role of farming world, a different situation we have for the two other biogas uses we are taking into account: biogas into the natural gas grid, biogas for vehicle fuelling. In this two cases costs are higher because of the process of upgrading needed to transform biogas in biomethane (a cost that is hardly a the disposal of small/medium agriculture enterprises); much bigger is the problem of support infrastructures. The existence of a public gas grid quite broad is fundamental to reach the area were biogas production is located. This is a problem expected to be much bigger as much is the country extended. For vehicle fuelling we have an analogous problem: before to know if there is a potential market made by a high number of methane vehicles in the country, we need to have a quite extended system of methane distributors. Each country should have public, private (or mixed public and private) entities that could be interested in such business 3. It would be helpful in the round tables to compare the practices already adopted in the partner countries. For example, in Italy the most of the results in the diffusion of biogas plants in agriculture has been the effect of the introduction of the market of green certificates. A system with which producers of energy from renewable sources can sell energy at a higher price. The Swot analysis We need to draw a useful picture of problems to solve on, possibilities of development country by country, and finally which are the best practices to implement to obtain such results. A scheme based on Swot analysis to follow during the round tables have to verify possibilities of biogas development in the six partner countries of Biogas Accepted for each of the three uses examined: biogas for combined heat and power systems; biogas into the natural gas grid; biogas for vehicle fuelling. The analysis should also point out the strongest elements that can play in favor of the public acceptance of biogas structures and technologies. Moreover, it has to describe the contest of acceptance even in the terms of when and where in the region (or in the country). 3 E.g. in Italy such role is expected to be played by municipal agencies providing services of public interest like gas or electricity distribution. They are of private structure but manage public finances, usually in a regime of local monopoly. Page 3 of 5

4 Internal origin External origin Helpful to achieve the objective Strengths: - availability of raw materials for the substrate - low price of raw materials - availability of public/private investors on biomethane - demand for district heating systems - big dimension of farms - need to solve the problem of wastes (agricultural industrial, municipal) - Initiatives organized for a wider knowledge of biogas like visits to the plants for farmers and actors involved Opportunities: - Market: high demand of energy; development of engineering technologies; presence of multinational companies providing technologies for biogas; high price of fossil sources; extension of public gas grid; high number of methane fuelled vehicles; - Legislation: presence of economic incentives for the use of renewable sources; - Society: interest for renewable sources and climate change problems; possibility to eliminate bad odors from farms; Harmful to achieve the objective Weaknesses: - small dimension of farms - lack of suitable locations for new plants - High prices of the substrate or of the coferments - Lack of technologies for biogas upgrading process - Lack of local enterprises working on biogas plants technology and contextual need to import services Threats: - Market: lack of technologies in the national market; lack of a broad gas grid (distance from the plants); lack of investments on renewable sources, opposition to public investments from companies working on other sources - Legislation: legislative obstacles to get authorizations - Society: lack of interest for problems of agriculture; history of frequent obstacles to new infrastructures; lack of knowledge of biogas technologies Other features related: - Restriction in Co2 emissions adopted by Ue - European directive on nitrates Page 4 of 5

5 A flowchart of the Round Table 1. Establish an attendance list (signed by all participants) 2. Short introduction of partner organisation IEEA and biogas accepted project (15 minutes) 3. Short explanation what is going to happen today, what are the aims, ; Importance for the project, (10 minutes) 4. Introduction to SWOT-Analysis (10 minutes) 5. Activity: (80 minutes) It is possible to divide the participants into subgroups to fit the four different divisions of the swat analysis. Division are presented as flipcharts headed with questions to the following topics: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. As an example the question for Opportunities could be: What are the opportunities for future biogas applications in target region? Each division is chaired. It would be perfect if the chairs would be equally shared between women and men (e.g. two division chaired by female and two by male representatives). The selection of the individual persons who chair the divisions is up to the partner. He can select whomever he thinks suitable for the job. Tasks of the chair. Guiding the groups through e.g. putting forward the right questions for the different headings of the subdivision. And write the important facts on to the flipchart. Introduce a rotation system: Change of group in the division every 20 minutes. 6. Presentation of results of in the different divisions by chair 7. Look into the future of the project: This has to be considered as an indicative scheme. In particular, the organization of the discussion among the participants is left to the single partner who manages the round table. It would be appropriate to find at least one participant for each of the categories individuated in the first part of the draft. Obviously, point 5 has to be related to the number of participants the partner considers suitable to a better pace and result of the round table, as to the way to conduct the works the partner prefers. At the end of the round table minutes of meeting will be sent. Next round table will be set up in about a year. Page 5 of 5

6 Project: BIOGASACCEPTED with grant agreement number EIE/07/S Deliverable 6.1b Governance and Legislation Consequences for Biogas Promotion (2 nd Grouping of 6 Round Tables) Author: FNE Fondazione Nord Est November 2009 The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Communities. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

7 WP 6 - Second turn of Round Tables - Concept 1. Overview As general framework, I suggest to consider this second round table as complementary to your first. Inside the range of issues emerged as related to biogas issue during the first meeting, it would be suitable to select out two, three of them and to focus on them only. This second round table is expected to close the open questions raised during the first workshops and derive recommendations for biogas intervention governance and legislation. 2. Issues Two, three most significant issues emerged from the first round table should be the focus of the new meeting. With the aim of getting a final answer to main problems, to the most critical questions related to biogas in your country. Is better to focus on practical problems related to social acceptance of new biogas applications. The result of the workshop should produce an indicator for regional acceptance, as is foreseen in the contract. Important is the perspective of considering the final recommendation for decision makers to be taken from the most relevant contents of the two meetings. 3. Participants Talking about the people to invite, I suggest to be aware of involving those figures who were left out during the first round of workshops, among those foreseen in the contract: municipal politicians, public administrators, regional managers, market players, industry and service suppliers, energy suppliers, biogas plant operators, regional policy level actors, and biomass association representatives. Administrators at municipal/regional level, representatives of agriculture and farming, experts, investors have been pointed out to deepen legislative and market features. For an example of a participant recording table, please see the Task Fulfilment PowerPoint presentation, under slide 6 (Round Tables). During the first turn, many of us had problems in inviting municipal politicians. For example, FNE didn t invite any elected politician during its first round table and is trying to find some of this category to cover all the target groups selected out in the contract.

8 4. Methodology You can proceed as follows: 1) Point out your target groups; 2) Select out one or two persons for each of the target groups; 3) Contact them, both by phone and then by . Go on until you have a final answer; 4) You can choose between apply the SWOT analysis during the round table asking the guests to answer in the terms of Strengths/Weaknesses, Risks/Opportunities. You also choose to leave the guests discuss freely, and divide the results following the SWOT scheme when you report the meeting. In this second case, a methodology similar to that used in focus groups is appropriate and useful for our round tables. A focus group, generally should follow some general rules: - A given topic has to be prepared and delivered to the guests - The moderator has an active role: follows the discussion and take care it doesn t shift from the topic. - Interaction: the guests should be let discuss in an open conversation among them. The moderator should take care they don t go far from the given topic. Group discussion produces data and insights that would be less accessible without interaction. - Analysis 5. Results The first turn of round tables reached the aim of collecting a wide range of information in biogas field. This base of knowledge regarded different administrative levels: European, national, regional. This approach started from the point that policy for biogas (and renewable sources in general) involves in Europe all this three decision making levels, and any pressure to exercise for biogas development have to take into account the different roles. Regional practices related to acceptance and legislative features will be selected to address consequences for European policy making. We suggest to try to use the Round Tables for our communication needs. Both because of dissemination activities, both because of the general aim of building awareness amongst regional actors, local politicians, major market players, policy makers. The results should be reported following the SWOT analysis scheme, as framed for the first turn of round tables, and should derive recommendations for governance and lesgislation that will later be presented to the correct governmental officials.