Project: BIOGASACCEPTED with grant agreement number EIE/07/S Deliverable D.2.1 Common methodology for the selection of case studies

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1 Project: BIOGASACCEPTED with grant agreement number EIE/07/S Deliverable D.2.1 Common methodology for the selection of case studies Author: EC BREC Baltic Renewable Energy Centre Institute for Fuels and Renewable Energy November 2007 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 Content 1. Introduction Guideline for case study selection Case application and resource Geographical region Evaluation of case studies set Case Fact Sheet Deficit of suitable cases General aspects Installations Installed capacity Support mechanisms Detailed criteria an individual case Development stage of case installation Public acceptance and knowledge Other aspects...11 ANNEX 1: Case study: General aspects - country...12 ANNEX 2: Case study: General aspects - region...13 ANNEX 3: Case study: General aspects - installation...14 ANNEX 4: Case Study Fact Sheet...15 ANNEX 5: Contacts guideline...16 Page 2 of 16

3 1. Introduction This document is intended to provide a guideline for choosing proper case studies in particular countries for the BiogasAccepted project. Due to growing interest in biogas ventures the development of this branch should be supported by different units and developed tools, including social frames. Currently, there are more and more industries and various business sectors, which are involved in the biogas production chain and public acceptance becomes a significantly important issue, during the whole life cycle of an installation. The average calorific value of currently produced biogas equal to about MJ/m 3, which is similar to hard coal characteristics and higher than the value for wood fuels. The technological biogas production chain can be divided into three main parts, which are shown (together with the description) below. STOCK PROCESS OUTCOMES FINAL USE - raw material - transport - preparation and purification - production (anaerobic digestion process) - technology - storage - end product use - co-products - heat, cooling or electricity - gas supply grid - internal use of the producer - fuelling vehicles According to the raw material used, it is possible to distinguish three types of biogas production plants, which will be used in the guideline and criteria: Agricultural raw materials: materials from energy plantations, wastes from agriculture and post-harvesting residues, manure and residues from livestock farms. Industrial wastes and by-products: wastes and residues from several sectors of industry: food, milk production, sugar, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, biochemical, paper, meat industries and others. Municipal wastes: organic fraction from municipal wastes, sewage sludge, wastes from gardening and hotel and restaurant residues. In this type of production also includes the system of gaining biogas from municipal waste dumps. Depending on the source availability, different types of biogas plants dominate in particular countries and regions of Europe. Anaerobic digestion can be divided into three main steps, which are shown on the diagram: Page 3 of 16

4 Insoluble organics STEP 1 Hydrolytic bacteria Soluble sugars Organic acids STEP 2 Fermantative Methane and carbon dioxide STEP 3 Acetogenic bacteria methanogenic bacteria The most characteristic features concerning the process efficiency and productivity are temperature and time. Three ranges of temperature have been distinguished due to the type of bacteria, which carry out the process ºC Psychrophilic bacteria 30-35ºC Mesophilic bacteria 52-55ºC Thermophilic bacteria The choice of a particular range of temperature should be made on the basis of biogas plant conditions and adjusted to its specific parameters. However, it has been proved that only mesophilic and thermophilic processes are profitable, which is also emphasized by the fact that the great majority of existing and planned biogas plants use these two systems. The time of the process shall be adapted to material used and product expected. Materials containing more fat are likely to decompose faster while cellulose parts need more time. In general, in lower temperatures the process of digestion proceeds more slowly, while thermophilic conditions require a shorter process time. Procedure and process applied are shown below concerning different material humidities. Page 4 of 16

5 Digestion/Codigestion Wet Dry Continuously Continuously Completely Anaerobic Batch Completely Plug flow T M T M T M T M T- Thermophilic bacteria M- Mesophilic bacteria Depending on the material used and conditions of process applied the final product will differ in quality, calorific values and composition. However, all the types can be used for similar purposes. Biogas, after some improvements and purification processing, can supply the local or regional natural gas supply grid or can be used for fuelling vehicles. It can be transformed into electricity and heat to supply local recipients or be transported to other regions. In some cases the biogas produced is used to satisfy the demand for energy of the producer, e.g. wastewater treatment plant. In general produced biogas can be used for four main purposes: Producing electricity Heating and cooling purposes Fuelling vehicles These opportunities for biogas consumption result in many units producing the required energy by means of several methods and systems. 2. Guideline for case study selection Each BiogasAccepted project partner is expected to select four biogas project cases. The guideline distinguishes general aspects, describing country and detailed criteria, referring to the particular case in a selected region. In every country there are different preferences for biogas technology, which determine the technological position on the market. Thus general information refers to the national supporting mechanism and may improve understanding of the macroeconomic background for biogas investments. As a result of putting together and verifying the BiogasAccepted Case Application Plan and national conditions the most feasible technology shall be Page 5 of 16

6 chosen and detailed criteria may be applied. The detailed criteria refer to potential problems, which may occur where a certain biogas plant is located, so that the BiogasAccepted tool may be applied. The whole procedure, in sequence, consists of the following steps: 1. Partner verifies case application on the basis of the General Aspects at country and region levels 2. Partner prepares the potential case study list for a given region. The most suitable applications are listed higher 3. Partner interviews a potential case study from the list in order respectively, to obtain an official agreement for applying the Acceptance Tool, according to the contacts guide (see Annex 5) 4. Partner fills Case Fact Sheet (see Annex 4) 5. In special circumstances when there is a lack of suitable cases, the procedure can be repeated for modified applications or resources (Point 1) as well as in another region (Point 2). The agreement of the Coordinator and WP Leader is necessary. For any change in region the prior agreement of the EU has to be acquired, as it is part of the contract please make prior contact with the coordinator Case application and resource According to Biogas Accepted case application plan (Annex I to the grant agreement) a substrate and a technology for case studies in each country is determined. Case Application plan Country Case resources Case applications Countries reference Austria Various local sources Vehicle fuelling Best practice: Energy crops for CHP Italy Energy crops Vehicle fuelling, CHP Experience: Natural gas for vehicle fuelling Hungary Energy crops Diverse applications High agricultural potential Poland Agricultural sources CHP High agricultural potential Slovakia Diverse resources Diverse applications High municipal/industrial potential Spain Municipal/industrial residues Diverse applications High municipal/industrial potential Page 6 of 16

7 2.2. Geographical region In the BiogasAccepted project the size of geographical region was defined at NUTS- 2 level. In the project proposal the following regions were pre-selected by project partners. However, the guideline assumes possible variations of the Project Agreement. Country Regions NUTS code Austria Oberösterreich AT1 Italy Veneto Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano/Bozen ITD3 ITD1 Hungary del-alfold HU33 Poland Slovakia Warminsko-Mazurskie Pomorskie Bratislavsky kraj Zapadne Slovensko PL62 PL63 SK01 SK02 Spain Cataluna ES Evaluation of case studies set The first step is preparation of the potential applications in given regions. The detailed criteria are applied then to classify applications concerning the best potential for Acceptance Tool application. Among other factors, which were not mentioned among the listed criteria, the connectivity aspect should be considered. It is important to improve and support a proper relationship with the managers of the installation such a situation will make the further implementation of the acceptance tool more satisfactory. If the project is suitable and there is willingness to cooperate the project is accepted as a case study for BiogasAccepted Case Fact Sheet Page 7 of 16

8 After the verification process the common Case Fact Sheet (Annex 4) has to be completed for each case. The fact sheet consists of technical and socio-economic data Deficit of suitable cases It is necessary to assume the pessimistic option, where a partner has difficulty collecting suitable applications. In that case two possibilities are foreseen: 1. Modification case type and/or resource 2. Changing region for a more suitable one In both cases, as deviations from the grant agreement, respective justification and agreements of Coordinator and WP Leader are required. The diagram below presents the procedure of selection cases for the BiogasAccepted project. Page 8 of 16

9 General Aspects Part 1 Annex 1 Part 2 Annex 2 Detailed criteria Part 3 Annex 3 prepare apply prepare Case resources and applications (agricultural, waste water treatment, landfill) Geographical region Case list Case list in order 1,2,. Official contact with case Agree participate? select prepare Yes No Contact Coordinator and take next option Yes, take next No Are cases on the list? check No COUNTRY LEVEL REGIONAL LEVEL CASE STUDY 1...project region type reserve case Four or five case studies? Case fact sheets Yes Part 4 Annex 4 Reporting 3. General aspects There are five general questions assumed to be broad criteria for the first decisions in the process of choosing the proper case study. The criteria consist of very wide and general inquiries concerning information about the possibilities and barriers connected with the development of different sectors of biogas production. These overall aspects are to be assessed at two levels. The first level refers to the evaluation on the country basis and consists of three main questions. The questions, which refer to installations, number, type, substrates used as well as various support mechanisms and total installed capacity, is to be found in Annex 1. The other part of the general aspect analysis (Annex 2) refers to installations type in particular regions and should be prepared for two different regions assumed to provide potential for case studies Page 9 of 16

10 Both general and detailed criteria have been developed to facilitate the first steps of choosing a system and should improve the decision process in each country. Proceeding with the questions, which shall be completed by the listing of specific biogas plants, with reference to installation type, which are expected to provide the best fields for searching for the biogas case study Installations Concerning the potential case studies in the country or in the selected region, if biogas technology is properly developed, it is important to choose the proper installation type. However, as mentioned before some types of installations have been picked preliminarily for each country. It is possible to change the analyzed type if another type shows much higher potential for the case study selection Installed capacity The amount of biogas ventures may differ significantly from the amount of total installed capacity of mentioned types of installations in the particular region or country. The chosen type does not have to show the highest installed capacity among the others. From some points of view installations, which represents less developed sectors may be more interesting for the project evaluation Support mechanisms There are several legislative and economical mechanisms, which can stimulate or slow down the development of different sectors connected with biogas production. Those mechanisms can be assured by national governments or European decisionmakers and are expected to differ between countries. During the decision process it is important to observe the varying importance and influence of support mechanisms for each type of installation. Therefore these mechanisms stimulate the position of each installation type on the market. 4. Detailed criteria an individual case As the list of preferential installations is completed, detailed criteria may be applied (Annex 3). All detailed criteria are in priority order according to their importance for the selection of the most suitable case studies. The evaluation is formulated with the BiogasAccepted project in mind, where application of the Acceptance Tool is the most important objective. The answers are also in priority order, so that the first proposed answer is the best concerning the assumptions of the project. In this part specific and detailed answers are required. The more highly placed answers are given for the particular case study, the more suitable the analyzed case study is. In proceeding with the detailed criteria, guidelines included in Annex 5 shall be applied. Every attempt to contact potential case study must be noted by filling in the form shown in Annex 3. The evaluation of this process is expected to bring three to five forms (Annex 4) filled for different case studies, which have been accepted in the project. All these forms must be delivered to WP coordinator Development stage of case installation Various stages of installation development show different usefulness for the project. It is possible to assume that already existing installations provide no problems Page 10 of 16

11 concerning social acceptance, or the difficulties occurring in such installations are not relevant for the project assumptions. The most interesting stages, according to the project stipulations are planned installations that can face not completely positive attitude and society opinions Public acceptance and knowledge Public acceptance plays a very important role in the decision process. As the project assumes introducing the Acceptance Tool it is suggested to focus on a case study, which is more controversial and may face some social disapproval. From the other point of view a high level of knowledge concerning biogas and related aspects among society make the introduction of any new systems or mechanisms much easier Other aspects Proper dissemination of planned ventures and/or modernizations in already existing installation as well as the existence of an obligation to prepare the report on possible natural environment impact facilitate the process of gaining knowledge and becoming familiar with the case. Page 11 of 16

12 ANNEX 1: Case study: General aspects - country GENERAL ASPECTS - COUNTRY Author: 1 How many installations (biogas applications) exist in the country Please fill in each cell fuelled with biogas stemming from agri-cultural sources: manure, energy crops industrial wastes (food residuals...) municipal waste water treatment different sources fuelled with virtual biogas (CNG) PART 1 fuelled with natural gas Combined heat and power plant (CHP) Vehicle service station Feeding into the natural gas grid 2 What is the overall energy installed capacity of each type of biogas plant? Please fill in each cell fuelled with biogas stemming from agri-cultural sources: manure, energy crops industrial wastes (food residuals...) municipal waste water treatment different sources fuelled with virtual biogas (CNG) fuelled with natural gas Combined heat and power plant (CHP) Vehicle service station Feeding into the natural gas grid 3 What are the support mechanisms for each type of plant? (economic, legislative, programs, special tarrifs ets.) Please describe Page 12 of 16

13 ANNEX 2: Case study: General aspects - region GENERAL ASPECTS - REGION Region: Author: PART 2 How many installations (biogas applications) exist in the region Please fill in each cell fuelled with biogas stemming from agri-cultural sources: manure, energy crops industrial wastes (food residuals...) municipal waste water treatment different sources fuelled with virtual biogas (CNG) fuelled with natural gas Combined heat and power plant (CHP) Vehicle service station Feeding into the natural gas grid

14 ANNEX 3: Case study: General aspects - installation DETAILED CRITERIA - INSTALLATION Region (NUTS code): Author: Contact person: Date: PART 3 1 What is the project development stage? Pleas tick appropiate answer installation in plans? installation will be rebuilt or renovated? installation is operating? 2 Is the public acceptance (in any form) obligatory at any stage of installation life time? Pleas tick appropiate answer YES NO 3 What is nearby neighbourhood of the installation? Pleas tick appropiate answer inhabited nearby area? depopulated nearby area? 4 Has there been any information campaign already conducted? Pleas tick appropiate answer YES NO 5 What is the level of knowledge about biogas technologies among local society? Pleas tick appropiate answer high low 6 Who is the end consumer of produced energy? Pleas tick all appropiate answers local society is supplied for heat/cooling and/or electricity energy (electricity/gas/heat) is supplying regional or national natural gas grid, without connection with local citizens the plant is utilizing energy internally biogas is used for fueling the vehicles 7 Is the technology in the installation innovative? Pleas tick appropiate answer YES NO 8 Are there any other types of renewable energy installation in the region? Pleas tick appropiate answer NO YES Is the Environmental Impact Assessment or any other formal report obligatory for the 9 investment process? YES NO Page 14 of 16

15 ANNEX 4: Case Study Fact Sheet Promoting Biogas in European Regions Transfer of a Supporting Acceptance Tool for Stationary and Mobile Applications (BiogasAccepted) CASE STUDY FACT SHEET PART 4 COUNTRY PARTNER REGION PERSON NUTS CODE CASE STUDY BASIC DATA ORGANISATION NAME ADDRESS APPLICATION TYPE CONTACT PERSON TECHNOLOGICAL DETAILS TECHNOLOGY short description of technology SUBSTRATE type of resources used for biogas production PRODUCT type of main product END USER at place, DH network, grid etc. CAPACITY [ KW ] installed or planned capacity of the installation SECURITY OF SUBSTRATE SUPPLY short description about annual substrate demand and its management (own resource, contracts etc.) CO-PRODUCTS type of main product and description of its management INVESTMENT STAGE short description PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE CASE NEIGHBOURHOOD short description about direct vicinity of the case with a stress on social aspects PREVIOUS ACCEPTANCE ACTIONS short description if any actions undertaken KNOWLEDGE ABOUT BIOGAS TECHNOLOGY AMONG LOCAL SOCIETY short characteristic of local society based on personal felling RES UTILISATION IN REGION short description of renewable energy development in a region short description of renewable energy development in a region Page 15 of 16

16 ANNEX 5: Contacts guideline 1. Inform yourself about the plant/company/stakeholder (source: homepage; other publications if available, ). It is important for the interview that you can lay special emphasis on benefits of the BiogasAccepted Tool for the specific interview partner. 2. Select interview partner. Person interviewed should be in the position to make decisions for the company, but also should have the information needed to fill in the fact sheet. If there are two persons necessary try to arrange an interview with both (same time same location). 3. Prepare information sheet on the project for handing out. Give a general outline of the project with focus on the practical use and benefits for interview partners. Describe also the possibility for the interview partner to take part in the project as a case. It is also possible to attach some kind of form sheet, which may be used to apply as a candidate for the case studies. 4. Arrange interview appointment - in for your company usual manner. 5. Prepare questionnaire based on ANNEX 1-4 for use in a face to face interview. The answers and all additional information you may gather during the interview should be noted down. Your interview partner may also jump from one question to another during the interview. 6. You may also work with a Co-interviewer. 7. The interview itself: Give a short introduction of your company (to relate to the region) Give a short information about the project and possible benefits Carry out interview according interview guideline (write it down) Hand out information sheet and inform about possibility to take part in the project Keep communication warm arrange new appointment (fon call; meeting, invitation, ) in order to clarify if the interview partner will take part in the project as a case 8. Prepare minutes of the interview. 9. Send materials to EC BREC REPORT ALL ACTIONS: ALSO FAILED CONTACTS Page 16 of 16