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Baltic Biomass Network (BBN)
Baltic Biomass Network
(BBN)
Start date: Dec 31, 2004,
End date: Dec 31, 2004
PROJECT
FINISHED
The Baltic Sea Region, with its agricultural and forest resources, has great potential to fulfil EU objectives for biomass heat, power and fuel production. However, sustainable bioenergy development will depend on overcoming current obstacles throughout the region, including poorly developed logistics and biomass production infrastructures, competition between market players for limited local resources, competing land use interests and insufficient knowledge of regional potential. Integrating new biomass processing schemes for bioenergy applications in areas with competing biomass processing and land-use structures raises complex spatial planning issues. The relevance of spatial planning solutions seems to be even higher in regions where bioenergy and industrial biomass production capacities compete for a limited amount of resources, or in countries where wood biomass is barred from profitable export markets, leaving few ressources for local bioenergy applications. Achievements: Based on the regional biomass potential analyses, BBN groups have visualized the feasibility and impact of regional bioenergy development according to specific products (biodiesel, bioethanol, biogas, woodchips, pellets, straw etc.). These visualizations portray suitable areas for energy crop production, solid fuel recovery and plant location.BBN spatial planning tools support farmers and forest operators in evaluating risks and chances when reorienting production schemes to suit bioenergy systems. Consequently, local authorities were provided with instruments to help identify appropriate sites for energy plants and pinpoint as yet untapped resources, while also enabling them to minimize environmental, land and resource-use conflicts, and with the means to realize Regional Development Strategies for bioenergy use.In each of the participating regions, BBN has overseen regional networks involving planning authorities, investors and bioenergy plant operators, biomass producers and economic development authorities. These groups have promoted further investment and collaborated to enhance competence in planning sustainable resource use in order to better meet the Baltic Sea Region targets for bioenergy development.The next step is a concerted effort to accompany the development of the international biomass market in the Baltic Sea Region. Promotion of more effective value chains and international trade will drive the advent of innovative technologies at the regional level, assuming feedstock sources remain available and secure. Therefore, the Network is going to apply for a future project in the next INTERREG IVB application round.