Electricity from renewables in Västra Götaland, Sweden - OPET Sweden

Summary
The OPET RES-e project focused on the deployment of technologies for electricity production with renewable energy sources (RES-e). The activities within the project, at a regional level, focused specifically on several barriers concerning the deployment of RES-e technologies. All activities and outputs within the project were based on the initial survey, made in line with a technology mapping, experiences from earlier work and discussions and interviews with key stakeholders and persons in regional authorities, companies and entrepreneurs, etc.

Based on the assessment of the situation, barriers and future prospects, it was decided to focus the technological information activities within two fields: biomass CHP and biogas micro CHP. The activities include technology and market studies, technology brochures and seminars. In combination with these, targeted advice for several actors was given and possible project proposals for the future were made.

End-user area	Industry Planning issues Sustainable communities
Target audience	Decision makers Local and regional authorities Property owners Utilities
Technical scope	Biomass CHP Hydro power Wind

Context
The development of green electricity - electricity from renewable energy sources (RES-e) such as wind, water, solar and biomass - is at the core of Europe's energy policy. There are several good reasons for this. Renewable energy has an important role to play in reducing CO2 emissions for increasing sustainability and fulfilling Kyoto commitments as a major Community policy objective. It also helps to improve the security of energy supply by reducing the Community's growing dependence on imported energy sources. Moreover, renewable energy sources are a growing market, thus contributing to European economic growth and job creation.

RES-e technologies are currently, in most cases, small scale and strongly dependent upon local implementation. The OPET RES-e project has a regional focus of which one of the participating regions is Västra Götaland in Sweden. The project was carried out from the 1st April 2003 to 31 May 2004.

Objectives
The OPET RES-e Project aimed to match European policies (notably the RES-e Directive) with local technology uptake, by disseminating knowledge and targeting decision-makers in both public and private organisations. The project responded to local conditions (which vary significantly) and facilitated implementation by bringing together regional actors and know-how from European research bodies. The main objectives of the project were as follows:

• Triggering local implementation of the RES-e technologies
• Linking policy (RES-e Directive) and technology
• Combining local technology-oriented action with international co-operation
• Fostering a European internal market for RES-e technologies and a European Research Area

Process
The activities, on regional level, focused on several barriers concerning the deployment of RES-e technologies. A technology map for the Västra Götaland region in Sweden was produced to assess the current situation, barriers and future prospects for the different technology fields.

The technical information activities carried out mainly targeted the RES-e technologies considered to have the best potential in the short term and for which the main barrier is a lack of information and knowledge. Based on this, it was decided to focus the technological information activities within two fields: biomass CHP and biogas micro CHP. Other promising RES-e technologies, such as wind power and waste CHP, was considered to have other barriers, which we considered to be beyond our influence and/or could not be adequately diminished within the period and scope of the project.

The information activities for biomass CHP attempted to highlight the advantages of local and environmentally friendly electricity production and technical, financial and economical developments, such as existing technology and development and the increasing electricity prices and new possibilities due to the new RES-e certificate scheme.

Small-scale biogas CHP activities focused on the prospect of greater self-sufficiency in energy supply and the economic advantages relating to the recirculation of nutrition and decreased use of chemical fertilizers within the farming sector. The activity was coordinated and carried out in cooperation with the National Association of Farmers (LRF) and the County of Västra Götaland.

The work has contributed to the following deliverables:

• A survey on the potential and feasibility of small-scale co-generation in existing and new biomass CHP/DH plants.
• An 8-page brochure on small-scale co-generation with biomass.
• A seminar on small-scale co-generation in existing and new biomass CHP/DH plants in Borås on the 5th of March 2004, followed by a study visit to the new waste CHP plant, which is currently under construction. The seminar had 52 participants from utilities, consultants, university and other stakeholders.
• An analysis of the feasibility of RES-e production with biogas on farms in Västra Götaland.
• An 8-page brochure on electricity from biogas at farms.
• A seminar on RES-e production with biogas on farms held in Skara on the 26th of March 2004. The seminar had 40 participants from farming companies, farmers, consultants, university and other stakeholders.
• Targeted advice to 12 organisations regarding planned, on-going or possible projects.
• A report on best practice and barriers for public acceptance, grid system issues and administrative procedures was finalised at the beginning of October 2003.

Actions
- Seminar
- Market Analysis
- Other: brochures and project advice

Financial resources and partners
The total budget for the Swedish part of the project was 54k€, of which 50% was contributed by the European Commission. The rest of the budget was covered by the Swedish Energy Agency.

Main parts of the regional activities were carried out with the assistance of KanEnergi, Sweden AB, a consultancy located in the region. KanEnergi has an extensive network and experience with working on energy technology implementation and providing information activities at a local and regional level.

By collaborating with the regional administration and other regional key actors, such as the regional part of LRF (National Association for Farmers), a broad uptake and dissemination was ensured.

Results
Direct outcomes of the project included a series of seminars and the publication and dissemination of brochures and reports d. In addition, targeted advice to 12 projects was made. The communication with key stakeholders and possible end-users was also very important for identifying new possibilities and projects.

The activities were an important initiative for increasing knowledge amongst key stakeholders on a regional level, as well as establishing networks and cooperation for further work in these fields. For example, there are now discussions concerning the setting up of a regional working group on biogas micro CHP in the framework of, and as a complement to, the national biogas association and the regional association for biogas for vehicle fuel. The working group will be supported by LRF (the National Association for Farmers) and the county administration. One of the initial projects might be a biogas CHP installation at Sötåsen agricultural school, which has received advice from the OPET RES-e project.

A local working group in the municipality of Lidköping has also been set up to analyze and discuss the possibilities of implementing sterling engine projects with biogas and future utilisation of wood pellets for RES-e production.

Several municipal and private utilities and district heating companies are very interested in investing in biomass CHP in existing or new plants. For example, the municipality of Mark, which attended the seminar and received the biomass CHP report, decided in May 2004 to purchase a new biomass CHP plant with the capacity of 3.5 MWe. Discussions on biomass CHP investments are ongoing in several municipalities that were involved in the project, such as Tidaholm and Kungälv.

At the end of the project, a monitoring exercise, based on the technology map produced at the beginning of the project, were carried out. The main finding was that there has, in certain fields, been an extensive development but, in others, non at all. This is, in many cases, dependent upon the regulatory framework for permits, grid access, public opinion, technology development and economic factors such as electricity price and support. However, in the two fields the project focused on, a clear change was seen. The possibilities of biomass and biogas CHP is considered to be very interesting amongst key stakeholders and many projects are under development or discussion.

Lessons learned and replication potential
The conclusions and lessons learned from the implementation of the project can be summarised as:

• Assessment of regional/local potential and barriers vital for the strategic approach and targeting activities
• Focus on technologies and applications with a relatively short period to regional deployment
• Targeting activities towards barriers that you can influence in the short term
• Important to cooperate with other stakeholders in order to gain interest and commitment and to allocate resources
• Networking, experiences and long-term approach vital to identify stakeholders, projects, etc.

By focusing the activities on two specific technology fields that have a potential of increased development in the short- and medium-term, the main barriers can be targeted in conjunction with cooperation and discussion with regional key stakeholders.

Success factors for replication in other European regions are to make adequate assessment of the potential and barriers of the specific technology fields. The strategic approach and activities should be decided on the basis of this assessment.

Important actions to support both long-term development and to initiate a process are to create or strengthen networks of key stakeholders and to enable these stakeholders to communicate with each other. By creating platforms for discussion and project development, etc. you increase the possibility of further action beyond the conclusion of the project.