EMU

This paper has been presented at BIOENERGY '96 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, September 16.

Danish energy policy is described. Today 8% of the energy demand is covered by renewable energy sources. The contribution from RES shall be 12-14% in 2005 and 35% in 2030. Several incentive schemes have been introduced to fulfill these goals. Considerable efforts in R&D are needed, too. Biomass is already intensively used in Denmark for energy purpose. Still more can be utilized and the efficiency by production of electricity can be improved. The main sources of biomass not yet utilized consist of straw and animal manure. Energy crops, for example, short rotation forestry has to be introduced during the next 10 year. The technology for small boilers is developed to a commercial level for combustion of straw and wood chips. Combined heat and power production up to 50 MW electricity using wood chips, straw, municipal solid waste and animal manure is developed to a relatively high efficiency of the production of electricity. Most plants are running on commercial conditions, while a few are prototypes. The need for further R&D including pilot plants is described.

Keywords: Straw, wood chip, municipal solid waste, biogas, combined heat and power, research, development, Denmark.

You can download the total paper (8 pages in MS Word 6.0 here.

This investigation was carried out with the aim to identify the demand for further R&D within the field of bioenergy. More than 250 Danish R&D projects has been evaluated. The projects are carried out in industry, at universities and by R&D organizations.

The use of biomass in form of municipal solid waste has a long tradition in Denmark (5 mill. inhabitants). Already in 1904 the first incineration plant was erected in the Copenhagen area. The heat was used for heating of the houses situated around the plant. Similar initiatives were taken different places around in Denmark without any policy formed in the parliament. This early development of combined heat and power is the base of the Danish tradition using CHP. After the first energy price chock in 1973 an energy policy was introduced. The three basic components were:

• High independence of imported energy resources.
• Diversification in the use of energy sources.
• Strong effort for energy saving.

The result was considerable energy savings especially within energy use for domestic heating and a shift from oil to coal in power and district heating plants (DEA, 2, 1996).

After the second energy price chock in 1979 a stronger taxation scheme on energy was introduced. The result of this policy was among other things that the utilization of biomass took a jump based on the high energy price on oil and coal. This development was supported by incentives for research and development and for erection of prototypes. The use of straw for heating on farms and the use of wood for domestic houses as an extra supply of heat was developed based on the fact that these energy sources were not subjected to energy taxes.

Around 1990 the discussion about global warming from emission of CO2 was reflected in the energy policy. It was decided to reduce the emission with 20% before year 2005. Among the means to obtain the CO2 target was:

• All district heating plants including all incineration plants have to be combined heat and power plants.
• The utilities have each year to use 1,200,000 tons of straw (15 PJ/y) and 200,000 tons of wood (2-3 PJ/y) for the production of electricity and heat.
• Burning of straw on the fields was prohibited.

An action plan for biomass was introduced. Biomass has to cover 85 PJ/y in year 2005. In 1996 a revised energy policy was introduced. This plan, Energy 21, covers the period up to year 2030, (DEA, 4, 1996). The use of biomass is going to increase with further 60 PJ/y. Today the use of RES is about 65 PJ/y and biomass 50 PJ/y. The total energy demand in Denmark was in 1995 830 PJ/y.

To fulfill the energy policy there has been introduced several incentive schemes during the last years, (DEA, 1, 1996). The incentives are divided in four groups:

• Increased taxation on fossil fuel.
• Production incentives. Grants to decentralized production of electricity using renewable energy sources.
• Investment incentives. Grants to change from use of fossil fuel or to new plants utilizing biomass.
• Incentives to research and development and to pilot plants.

1. Danish Energy Agency. Biomass for Energy - Danish Solutions. Copenhagen, June 1996. 40 pages. Available at the conference.
2. Danish Energy Agency. Energy use in Denmark and other OECD Countries. Copenhagen, April 1996. 67 pages.
3. Danish Energy Agency. Energy Solutions in Denmark - Clean and Efficient. Copenhagen, April 1996. 32 pages.
4. Danish Energy Agency. Energy 21. Copenhagen, February 1996. 76 pages.
5. Danish Energy Agency. Progress Report on the Economy of Centralized Biogas Plants. Copenhagen, February 1995. 32 pages.
6. Danish Energy Agency. Renewable Energy Sources in Denmark. Copenhagen, February 1996. 53 pages in Danish.
7. Danish Energy Agency. Renewable Energy Plants, Biomass. Technology Data. Copenhagen, January 1996. 71 pages in Danish.
8. Sorensen, H. C. Utilization of Biomass for Production of Heat and Electricity in Denmark. A survey of the demand for research and development in the field of combustion and gasification based on an evaluation of more than 250 Danish projects. Copenhagen, March 1996, 77 pages in Danish.
9. The Center of Biomass Technology in Denmark. Straw for Energy Production. Technology - Environment - Economy. Copenhagen, 1992. 48 pages.
10. The Center of Biomass Technology in Denmark. Wood Chips for Energy Production. Technology - Environment - Economy. Copenhagen, 1993. 48 pages.

This work was carried out together with a reference group from the Danish Energy Agency, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Danish Environment Protection Agency, the Ministry of Forestry, The Danish Association of District Heating Plants and the Organization of Danish Utilities: ELSAM and ELKRAFT. The work was sponsored by the Danish Energy Agency.