News/events

Bioenergy–Regions in Germany — an example for sustainable development in Central Europe

25 regions in Germany are acknowledged bioenergy–regions being the winner of a competition by the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV) carried out in 2008. For three years these regions were granted up to 400.000 Euro to implement their regional development plans for bioenergy. Since then the Bioenergy–Region project has been a success story implementing bioenergy in rural areas in a sustainable way.

Presentations from the 4Biomass Final Conference in Berlin

On the 21^st and 22^nd of March was held the Final Conference of the 4Biomass project.

During the first day of the conference, the speakers presented the national REAPs and in the CE countries used implementation measures and possible implementation constraints. In a panel the need for a coordinated Central European bioenergy policy for reaching the European Union 20-20-20 targets has been discussed.

The second day was dedicated to sustainable bioenergy investments in CE and to lessons learned from the three year project’s activities.

4Biomass Final Conference 21.- 22. March 2012 in Berlin

The Second Transnational Forum - towards a sustainable bioenergy policy in Central Europe.

The results of the project 4Biomass are presented during a conference on 21^st and 22^nd of March 2012 in Berlin. Policy makers, stakeholders and investors are invited to discuss the political frameworks for bioenergy in Central Europe.

Transnational Action Plan for Central Europe

Recommendations for policy makers and implementing authorities towards sustainable bioenergy development by a joint and consistent policy approach.

It is a conclusive output based on findings from Country Studies, Trade Studies, Needs for Demoprojects and especially from Stakeholder Dialogue Synthesis Report which can be all viewed at the 4Biomass publication site.

Basic Data Bioenergy Austria 2012

Austria is widely perceived as being a pioneer in the utilization of biomass for energy. This role of Austria is based on a long tradition of sustainable forestry, which is the main base of bioenergy–supply, and intensive efforts in research, development and market–preparation for modern technologies.

Need for Demoprojects

Within the project 4Biomass has been analyzed the need for demoprojects in CE countries. The study, which is based on 4Biomas project outputs – Country Study, Trade Study and Inventory on Demoprojects, provides information on regions with high potential for biomass utilization.

Field trip in Austria

During the projects activities it has been observed that in Poland there are major prejudices under the population about the implementation of bioenergy. Though the political targets are high, the implementation of bioenergy is lacking far behind. It seems very important for the 4Biomass project partners to demonstrate the advantages that come along with bioenergy investments. This field trip was part of the projects work description and crucial for preparing investments - the core output here in this workpackage.

Study tour in Slovenia

In frame of the 4Biomass project has been organized already the sixth study tour, this time in Slovenia. The study tour was linked to the partner′s project meeting on the previous day in Ljubljana. The site visit locations were chosen as they represent important milestones in the Slovenian RES story in the field of biomass. Two heating and one biogas plant were on the agenda, which was prepared also with the generous help of SLOBIOM, Slovenian Biomass association.

Workshop on removing barriers for faster development of RES in Slovenia

The workshop was in the Slovenian Parliament November 15^th 2011, organised by Slovenian Biomass Association SLO BIOM and supported by ApE and 4BIOMAS project with the ambition to contribute to removal of unnecessary bureaucratic and other barriers.

The podium at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) in Berlin

In 2009 the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) of the European Union came into force. This directive implies sustainability criteria for biofuels and bioliquids and requires a verification of sustainability for liquid energy carriers. Ordinances for biofuels and electricity implement the directive in Germany. According to these ordinances the certification of domestic as well as imported biomass is privately organised and is controlled by the BLE.

23. - 24. February 2012 - Berlin International Symposium on biogas during the BioGasWorld 2012

Detailed Preliminary Program available online - including contributions from the 4Biomass partners - The international symposium is organised by IBBK and supported by the 4Biomass project. Claudia Lutsyuk (FNR) will introduce the 4Biomass project to the audience and present some key results and Vito Pignatelli (ENEA) will hold a presenation about a research project under the title: Jerusalem Artichoke, a new sustainable energy crop for biogas production.

Call for papers – BiogasWorld 2012

Starting in 2012, the international trade fair BiogasWorld organised by ProFair GmbH takes place every second year togehter with SolarEnergy and bautec at the Berlin Exhibition Grounds. About 70,000 visitors from all over the world will visit the grounds on the five days. Apart from the domestic German market BiogasWorld places a special focus on the Eastern European countries from Poland and the Czech Republic to the Baltic States and Russia.

Results of the Trans-national Stakeholder Dialogue

Between November 2009 and September 2010, biomass-stakeholders from eight Central European countries (Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Slovak Republic, Slovenia) were invited to express their respective opinion and assessment concerning the framework conditions of bioenergy, the national biomass action plans, measures and instruments for the support of bioenergy, the prospects and the most favorable markets of bioenergy deployment and the role of bioenergy in relation to the other renewable energy sources.

Italian workshop and field trip

On 21 and 22 June 2011 ENEA together with CRPA (one of the Italian CEBCs, Central European Bioenergy Centers) organized a Workshop, focused on the state of the art of biogas in Italy, regarding both technical and normative aspects, and a Field Trip at a biogas plant.

National Forum of Biomass Combustion

The first national forum of biomass combustion was held on April 20-21 in Czestochowa. It was devoted entirely to issues of use of this fuel in the energy sector. Forum was divided into two parts: a conference and demonstration. There were over 200 representatives of energy companies and scientists.