Agricultural Policy and Promotion of Renewable Energy Sources in Finland

1
Agricultural Policy and Promotion of Renewable
Energy Sources in Finland

• International Conference
• Contribution of Agriculture to Energy
  Production
• Tallinn 7 October 2005
• Taina Vesanto
• MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY

2
Background

• National Climate Strategy 2001 (revision under
  way)
• gt National Energy and Climate Strategy 2005
• Action Plan for Renewable Energy Sources
• 1999 and 2002 (integrated into the National
  Climate Strategy of 2001)

3
Action Plan for Renewable Energy Sources 2002

• Aims
• Renewable energy is competitive on the open
  market
• By 2010 the use of renewable energy should be
  increased by about 30 from the year 2001
• By 2025 the renewable energy sources should be
  used about 2/3 more than at present

4
Action Plan for Renewable Energy Sources 2002

• Central actions
• Development and commercialisation of new
  technology and financial steering instruments
  (energy taxation, investment aid and subsidies)
• More information, education and training

5
Committee on arable biomass, biofuels for
transportation and biogas

• Drafts proposals on the implementation of the
  measures of the Action Plan for Renewable Energy
  Sources in its own sector
• As one of the measures, drafts plans on promoting
  the production and use of agroenergy
• Follows national and international trends in the
  sector
• Monitors the implementation of the proposed
  measures and achievement of the objectives
• Engages in broad cooperation with relevant
  interest groups and hears various experts in the
  field
• The term of the Committee ends on 31 December
  2006
• First report available (in Finnish,
  Työryhmäraportit 200411 http//www.mmm.fi/julkais
  ut/tyoryhmamuistiot/index.html

6
Agro - bioenergy

• Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinaceae)
• in 2004 total cultivation area about 4 000
  hectares
• in 2005 total cultivation area about 10 000
  hectares
• objective for 2015 is 100 000 hectares

7
The common agricultural policy of the EU

• Reform into force in the EU from the beginning of
  2005
• In Finland most of the reforms (e.g. single
  payments) into force from the beginning of 2006
• Aid for energy crops from the beginning of 2004
• One main objective of the reform is to decouple
  EU support from production and thus promote the
  steering of production according to markets

8
Framework conditions for increasing the
cultivated area

• utilisation capacity of power plants
• (at present 3.38 3.55 TWh)
• distance from arable land to power plant (max.
  100 km, usually 50-70 km) gt theoretical maximum
  area
• 160 000 hectares
• extending tax support to arable biomass
• additional costs to power plants due to
• transportation
• storage
• processing (e.g. pelleting, crushing)

9
Other biomass

• Other plants and plant parts (e.g. straw, hemp,
  flax)
• Burning of cereal ??
• Energy willow