This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at La biomasa crea independencia energética para el país y empleo local

Conclusions of the IV Hispano-Alemana bioenergy Conference held in Madrid

Biomass creates energy independence for the country and local employment

Source: Chamber of Commerce German for Spain11/12/2009

Biomass is today the only source of renewable energy that can supply in a sustainable way heat, electricity and fuel. With this central argument inaugurated Minister of agriculture and environment of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Christian Bobbert, the IV Hispano-Alemana bioenergy day, organized by the Chamber of Commerce German for Spain. The diplomat also stressed in his speech the multiplicity of uses of bioenergy, because they can be used both at the household level, as in small industrial plants and large factories.

José María Martínez, of the unit of biomass of the Centre for energy research, environmental and technology (Ciemat), which intervened then, disaggregate the advantages of biomass production: on the one hand environmental, because it does not contribute to the greenhouse or to the acid rain; on the other hand social, generating employment through the development of energy crops; and finally economic, as businesses and industries can sell their waste to the producers of biomass feedstock.

Carsten Moser, Christian Bobbert and José María Martínez.

Situation and prospect of the market in Spain

Martínez regretted that in Spain there is no a potential market of biomass because "the premiums to the generation of electricity using this energy source does not make viable economically" it. In fact, given the paradox that, although Spain is a country heavily dependent on energy, the majority of the biomass is exported to Europe, especially to Italy and United Kingdom, because there the premiums for electricity generation are higher, and therefore, they can pay a higher price.

Meanwhile Antonio Gonzalo, responsible for markets of the Association of energy valorization of biomass (Avebiom), stated that the SMEs of the bioenergy sector cannot stay paralysed from lack of institutional support, they have will open markets emphasizing the advantages of biomass in utility, price and cost. He put two examples of markets for thermal biomass that are being developed such as the industry of dehydrated fodder (from 9 to 15 million euros per year) and schools, where there are about 3,500 pending change thermal megawatts, with a potential turnover of EUR 1 billion.

Gonzalo also emphasized the potential of biomass as local employment-generating activity. 300 Direct jobs and indirect 100 are created by each time terawatio produced in the passage of oil or natural gas to biomass.

"Bioenergy sector SMEs may not halt against the lack of institutional support, but it should open up markets stressing the benefits of biomass use, price and cost"

Favourable legal framework in Germany

Catharina Beyer, consultancy Ecofys, outlined the legal framework for renewable energy in Germany, composed of the law on renewable energies in the year 2000, the Plan for the momentum of the market and using renewable energies heat Act. He stressed above all the positive effect of the continuity of the State support to renewable energies apart from the various Governments which have alternated in power.

Achim Kaiser, of the International Centre for biogas and bio-energy (IBBK, in German) described the development of biogas in Europe as patchy. He also explained the high growth of biogas in Germany due to the high level of technical development, state incentives and fixed supply fees established by law for a period of 20 years.

This idea was also shared by Matthias Edel, of the German Center for research on biomass (DBFZ, in its German acronym), which is dedicated to the analysis of electricity generation by solid biomass. The German scientist welcomed the German renewable energy Act for the development of biomass, by premiums laid down therein for cogeneration and the use of new technologies.

"We need to investigate more on the use of waste of the country such as citrus fruits, the growers and the vineyards, which could occur 5 million megawatts per year"

Lines of research

Andrés Ainia Pascual presented the results of the PES (Singular strategic project) of Probiogás, comprising 14 subprojects, involving 31, public and private entities, and which extends until 2011. Focused in more detail on the results of the sub-project 1, as they have been the quantification of raw materials (up to 186 subcategories), the chips and district and provincial maps based on these, its composition database, database of biogas production, and the development of a computer tool for the assessment of sustainability, call metaniza.

Francisco Repullo, Managing Director of the Inper engineering and Vice President of the Spanish Association of biogas (Aebig), analyzed in depth the current situation and prospects for the future of biogas at Spain. Emphasis was placed on the need to investigate more on the use of waste of the country such as citrus fruits, the growers and the vineyards, which could occur 5 million megawatts per year. This idea is also reflected in a study conducted in Andalusia by the above-mentioned Centre German research of the biomass, which revealed the great potential that exists in this community for this renewable energy through waste from agriculture and agri-food industry.

Repullo also criticized the complexity of the process of application for licenses to open plants in biogas, given that they are necessary, in addition to the municipal permit, formalities with three different ministries and the autonomous community concerned.

Presentation of German companies

The MWM company, represented by its commercial director in Spain, José Antonio Fernández, attendees showed their motogeneradores for the valorization of biogas. For over 135 years, the company develops and produces combustion for gas, special gas and diesel engines. Customers are farmers and livestock, horticultural enterprises (greenhouses), landfills, sewage treatment plants and plants for treatment of industrial waters, plant residues or Forsu treatment plants and companies in the tertiary sector.

Nolting manufactures 65 years boiler of biomass for pellets, briquettes and residual wood chips, sawdust, shavings, etc. Joachim Eggers, Manager of the company, exhibited its product range, which includes boilers to the industry, with a capacity of up to 2,300 kW, and for the wood sector SMEs such as sawmills, carpentry, manufacturers of doors, furniture, etc. with a power up 270 kW.

A.P. Bioenergietechnik has over 20 years experience in the development, manufacture and distribution of technologies for solid biofuels, under the brand name Ökotherm, which is the owner. In your have with the installation of a thousand plants of combustion in the world. The main property of these boilers is that they are therefore very independent and multicombustibles. Its head of sales and Marketing, Uli Dobler, also extolled the energy properties of the miscanthus as a feedstock.

With 120 employees and 40 million euros of turnover, Pro2 Anlagentechnik focuses planning, manufacture and maintenance of plants and modules of cogeneration and trigeneration, from 100 to 20,000 kW, with engines of natural gas and biogas. A great advantage of its plants is to work without the need for staff in the field, because they can be managed over the Internet. In Spain he currently has seven plants built.

Refood is dedicated to logistics and treatment of food waste for the valorization of biogas. Michael Weber, head of the company bioenergy projects, described the wide typology of customers, which include the food industry, catering facilities, catering companies and hospitals, among others. The two types of waste that are food products and used oils. In Germany they have 14 centres of logistics, 180 trucks and four floors of biogas. In Spain are members of the Probiogás project, the Ministry of science and innovation, and cluster of renewable energies in the community of Madrid.

The Stela Laxhuber company introduced its range of professional drying of low temperature for various agricultural, such as corn and other cereal products. Worldwide Laxhuber has so far installed over 3,000 plants from drying, and owns 50 percent of the market share of drying for waste from the wood industry. It also highlighted the usefulness of the new machines for drying grass and waste of wine or beer.