THE USE OF FOREST BIOMASS

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• THE USE OF FOREST BIOMASS
• FOR ENERGY IN ITALY
• PROBLEMS AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES
• Davide Pettenella
• davide.pettenella_at_unipd.it
• Dipartimento Territorio e Sistemi Agro-forestali
  
• Università di Padova

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Paper organization

• Bioenergy in Italy
• Production, removals and consumption of wood for
  energy state of the art
• Driving forces
• Main problems and conflict areas
• Final remarks

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A. Bioenergy in Italy
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• Italian families that are using biomass for
  energy
• families that are using wood as the main source
  of energy for heating
• role of wood among the domestically produced
  sources of energy
• The role of fuelwood in comparison to
  WindPhotovoltaicSolarGeotermy
• The role of wood on the total consumption of
  renewables (not considering the role of
  hydroelectric power but taking into consideration
  also the urban wastes)

• 22.3 (source Gerardi-Perrella Indagine 1999
  ENEA-ATESIA)
• 11.7 (Indagine multiscopo ISTAT 1998)
• 12.95 (Conti integrati economici e ambientali
  ISTAT 1990)
• 3.1 times (4921 ktep vs. 1571 ENEA, 2004)
• 64.9 (4921 Ktep/ 7576 hydro 9350 ENEA,
  2004)

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Territorial distribution of forests in Italy
Forests mountain areas ? demand for heating
energy by local population
White mountain areas
Black spots forest areas
White plain areas
Source CORINE Land Cover
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There is still a lot of work to be done in the
field of education and technical support
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B. Production, removals and consumption
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Wood harvest in Italy (1961-2001)
Italian wood market increased potential for
producing industrial wood (i.e. large diameter
logs), but low harvesting rate ? low
international prices
? stable domestic demand of ind. wood
total
fuelwood
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Wood removals by Region (2000) 7,9 M cm total(
gt 4 M cm as fuelwood)
Industrial use
energy
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Official data - good estimation of removals of
ind. wood- underestimation of the real quantity
of fuelwood
2 surveys carried out by ENEA (the Italian agency
for alternative energy sources) have found a
consumption of 15 M cm (more than 3 times the
official data)

• Why?
• Small scale logging
• No permission needed
• No strict control by public authorities
• Free use of wood residues in the forest harvested
  for the production of industrial wood

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How much are we cutting of the annual increment
of Italian forest? 1-1.5 of the of standing
volume (1,450 M cm FRA-FAO)
The real problem is that we are cutting poor
accessible wood (coppices) and we are abandoning
high productive, less accessible highforests ? No
value added productions
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Import

• Italy is the largest importer in Europe of
  bioenergy and wood residues
• fuelwood 600,000 cm 25.5 M
• charcoal 41,000 ton 10.4 M
• chips 1,330,000 cm 19.8 M
• wood wastes 820,000 cm 21.7 M
• (Source FAO- 2002)

Chips and fuelwood are imported from Canada,
Australia, Argentina, at which energy costs?
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C. Driving forces
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Many driving forces
A. Policies A forest traditional policy to
convert coppices (fuelwood production) to
highforest ( high quality timber and
environmental services) An energy policy which is
favouring investments in large plants for the
cogeneration of electricity and heat B. Market
trends A market-led policy which is favouring the
consumption of wood in small-scale heating plants
and in open fires A strong demand of low-quality
wood for the production of particleboard and MDF
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Progetto Fuoco the leading European exhibition
of fireplaces and small-scale heating plants (395
companies from 19 countries 35,000 visitors)
The market for the use of wood as a source of
heat is increasing day by day
http//www.pmtexpo.it/?IDsezione1271
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Demand by the panel industry
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Strong substitution process in the Italian panel
industry from forest residues to wood working
wastes to recycling of final wood products
http//www.pannelloecologico.com
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Source De Paoli, Lorenzoni (1999)
Is it profitable from a public perspective to
produce electricity in Italy making use of
biomass?
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Large plants for the production of electricity
based on the use of biomass

• 30 plants in Italy by the end of 2004 260 MWe ?
  more than 2 M ton of biomass
• 74,5 MWe only in Calabria Region (south of Italy,
  near Sicily)

• Which impacts?
• No local harvesting enterprises
• Logistic problems?
• Import from Morocco, Gabon, Brazil, Argentina,
  Croatia, Canada, which environmental and
  social impacts in these countries?

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Final remarks
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• We need to focus on a gradual development of
  small- and medium-scale use of bieonergy for the
  production of heat
• Information and technical assistance are more
  need than incentives
• The wood panel industry is not a real competitor
  to the forest managers they are mainly using
  post-use final wood products available at almost
  zero prices. They only fear a possible
  competition with large scale plants for the
  production of energy
• Cross-sectoral policies coordination is lacking
• A more careful cost-benefit analysis of the
  indirect impacts (not only on the Italian
  territory!) is needed for developing large plants
  for the production of energy based on forest
  biomass