Search

• The optimal share of woody biomass for power and heat is estimated to 5–14% in 2040. • Bioheat will mainly replace coal, natural gas, and wind power in the region to 2040. • Use of woody biomass may reduce cost of power and heat. • One TWh woody bio-heat reduce fossil emissions by 10–17 million tonne CO 2 in 2040. • The substitution effect of biomass declines as the carbon price increases. In this study, we analyse the use of woody biomass in the heat and power sector in Northern Europe towards 2040 and quantify the fossil GHG-emission reductions from biomass use at different carbon price levels. The applied partial equilibrium energy system model has endogenous capacity investments in relevant heat and power technologies. The results show that use of woody biomass can reduce the direct emissions from the Northern European power and heat sector by 4–27% for carbon prices in the range of 5–103 €/tonne CO 2 eq in 2030 compared to a scenario where woody biomass is not available for power and heat generation. The cost of delivering heat and electricity increases with 0.2–0.7% when wood chips are excluded, depending on the carbon price. At a low carbon price, the use of natural gas, wind, and coal power generation increases when biomass is not available for power and heat generation. At higher carbon prices, solar power, wind power, power-to-heat, and natural gas become increasingly competitive, and therefore the use of biomass has a lower impact on emission reductions. Using the same biomass volumes for liquid transport fuel, we find a higher impact on fossil carbon emission reductions but substantially higher costs. The main conclusion from this study is that woody biomass contribution to lowering the fossil emission from heat and power generation in the Northern Europe, and the transition to low carbon energy system will likely be more costly if biomass is excluded from heat and power generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A forest sector model and an energy model are linked to analyze biofuel production. • Biofuel facilities increase biomass prices and deter other bioenergy investments. • Policies targeting biomass should take these market effects into account. The need for fossil-free fuels in transportation will likely cause increased demand for liquid biofuels, which will affect biomass prices and hence alter fuel usage for heat and power generation. Despite obvious connections, the interactions between the forest, bioenergy and energy sectors are only analyzed to a limited extent in previous research. This study analyzes how increased forest-based biofuel production influences fuel use in the Nordic district heating sector, as well as power prices and investments in renewable power production. The novel contribution of the study is the linking of a detailed energy system model and a forest sector model covering forestry and forest industries in the Nordic countries. For the Nordic region, the use of biomass for power and heat is reduced by more than 50% when the biofuel production is assumed to increase from 0 to a 40% share of the transportation fuel market. The results contribute to the understanding of how large-scale biofuel deployment may affect heat and power markets and, in turn, the development of renewable energy systems. Policies targeting the enhancement of specific uses of biomass should take these market effects in the bioenergy and energy markets into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The large biomass resource in the Norwegian woods may contribute considerably to the development of a more sustainable energy system. A more complete tree harvest is being promoted, where harvest residues are utilised to provide bioenergy. Little research has addressed the intentions of forest owners towards harvesting forest residues. A survey of non-industrial private forest owners in two municipalities located in the south east of Norway was conducted in order to understand their attitudes and intentions to provide harvest residues for bioenergy production. The results showed that forest owners would be willing to supply harvest residues: about 40% of the respondents were highly in favour and almost 70% expressed a positive opinion. A factor analysis of the attitudinal statements resulted in four main factors of which three were found to significantly affect the intention in a regression analysis. The first factor was related to the beneficial effects of harvest residues, the second covered negative (mainly environmental) effects, and the third covered the positive effects upon forest management. The social influences seemed to have two distinct dimensions: personal relationships (e.g., other forest owners, neighbours and family) and professional interactions (e.g., governmental authorities). While the former had a significant effect on intentions, the latter did not. Finally, socioeconomic variables (gender, age, and municipality) did not influence the intention to deliver harvest residues. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]