Green gold makes a hard currency

All round the world, anxiety about climate change has sent the stock of bioenergy soaring. In Finland, bioenergy already covers over a quarter of all energy consumption, which is way above the 3-4 per cent average in most other European countries.
“Efficient use of bioenergy, top technological solutions and high efficiency ratios are key factors in combating climate change. The solutions chosen should be economically viable over several decades, and profitability calculated without any subsidies,” explains Petri Väisänen, head of the renewable energy business area at Pöyry Energy Ltd.

Finland is one of Europe’s most densely forested countries. The wealth of the nation has been built on utilizing this renewable natural resource called the green gold of Finland. Currently, about 80 per cent of Finnish bioenergy comes from forest biomass. The forestry industry utilizes the waste and side streams of its renewable raw material extremely effectively turning bark, spent pulping liquor and biosludge into heat and electricity.

Major potential for increasing the use of bioenergy is offered by wood chips, i.e. logging residues, and thinning waste. At the moment, it accounts for only some 5 TWh, but Väisänen believes this could easily be doubled without endangering forest growth.

Integrated bioenergy

According to Väisänen, however, the best potential for intensifying output of bioenergy lies in big integrated production plants in the forest industry, where waste heat from electricity generation could be exploited in full.

“Finland’s forests product some 90 million cubic metres of wood a year, but at the moment only a bit over half of that is utilized. A single biodiesel factory linked to an integrated forest industry plant could meet several per cent of the country’s total transport fuel needs,” continues Väisänen.

The EU wants to make it a binding target that the proportion of energy derived from biofuels amounts to 10 per cent in transport fuels by 2020. Doing so will demand new solutions, new technology and biomass from forests and peatlands.

“Arable energy is only a start. Even so, it is worth investing in biogas as well as biodiesel, because that will open up a path to the use of hydrogen in mid-century. Changing over private cars to biogas will call for a proper distribution network and the broad introduction of gas-fuelled model,” says Petri Väisänen.

BY JUSSI-PEKKA AUKIA
ILLUSTRATIONS BY LIISA SEPPO