Lessons from biomass planning at national and regional level in the EU

Abstract

Action plans are an important tool for meeting the EU renewable energy targets. Planning of biomass at national level has recently shifted from biomass action plans to renewable energy action plans; the latter still assigning special attention to biomass. A number of regions have also developed or are developing biomass plans. However, even though such plans are to assist the delivery of bioenergy development, the processes leading to successful implementation are not well documented. Little is known of the roles and function of these plans. This paper examines factors underlying plans and draws lessons from the planning processes that appear to support successful bioenergy development. The work presents views of actors involved in biomass planning in eleven countries and nine regions in Europe with an analytical framework employed to condense and present interview content. The analysis shows that while planning processes at both national and regional levels have encountered barriers – most of them common to policy implementation in general, but some specific to bioenergy policy – the national level appears to have better dealt with such barriers. Stakeholder commitment, continuity of policy, and flexibility of planning guidelines and processes were found as some of the keys to successful implementation. While biomass plans were demonstrated to serve several roles, approaches looking beyond energy use are still limited. The work concludes that coordination of planning between jurisdictional levels needs to be strengthened and regional stimuli recognized at higher levels in order for biomass policy and planning to better achieve goals. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Co-Development of a Tool to Aid the Assessment of Biomass Potential for Sustainable Resource Utilization: An Exploratory Study with Danish and Swedish Municipalities

“…Therefore, planning for biomass utilization needs to recognize lower-level policies regarding the competences of those involved in micromanaging the transition to sustainable solutions. Approaching planning with a bottom-up approach, together with governmental coordination and collaboration at the regional level, could therefore support governments to successfully support access to biomass for energy usage to help them achieve their energy goals [12,13].…”

“…Planners at the municipal level currently face a barrier when involved with business stakeholders in the utilization of biomass [12]. On the one hand, enabling biomass' potential is only feasible if certain sales channels are present.…”