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Effectiveness of policy instruments for supporting the use of waste wood as a renewable energy resource in the Czech Republic
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Energy Policy 35 (2007) 577–585 www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol
Effectiveness of policy instruments for supporting the use of waste wood as a renewable energy resource in the Czech Republic Bohumira Jehlickovaa,, Richard Morrisb,1 a
5, High Street, Great Linford, Milton Keynes, MK14 5AX, UK b Faculty of Technology, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK Available online 23 February 2006
Abstract This paper focuses on an examination of the government’s strategy for encouraging the use of wood as a renewable fuel in Czech households. It examines the development of modern combustion technology and its impact on the environment. It describes the estimated requirement for wood by an average household and examines the overall availability of wood as a renewable fuel in the Czech Republic. The paper analyses in detail the policy instruments used by the Czech government to promote the use of this technology. It evaluates the impact of this policy on the users of the technology and practical achievements of the policy measures with respect to the overall objective that is the promotion of generation of renewable energy. r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Biomass energy; Renewables policy; Czech Republic
1. Introduction Biomass has been found to be a viable renewable energy option in many European countries (Alakangas, 1998; Country picture Denmark, 2001; ForBiom, 2004; Simanov, 2002; Wolgemuth, 1998). In the form of waste wood, biomass also has a potential under particular conditions as a modern and environmentally friendly source of thermal energy for individual dwellings, when used with appropriately designed appliances. The potentially positive impact on the environment is an important feature of biofuel technologies that are promoted as a part of sustainable renewable energy policy initiatives of the European Union (Commission of the European Communities, 1997). However, the processes that introduce renewable technologies into a market may also not be very effective in extending the use of clean energy sources (Mayer, 2003). This paper examines the Czech government’s strategy for encouraging the use of wood for household heating and some of the consequences of this policy. It starts by outlining the development of modern combustion Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 1908 394941.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (B. Jehlickova), [email protected] (R. Morris). 1 Senior visiting Research Fellow. 0301-4215/$ - see front matter r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2005.12.024
technology, and proceeds to examine the availability of wood as a renewable fuel in the Czech Republic. The paper then examines the Czech government’s policy aimed at the promotion of the use of wood as an energy resource in households. Finally, it evaluates the practical achievements and consequences of this policy and attempts to assess the extent to which the policy delivers its stated objective—the promotion of more renewable energy resources. 2. Wood and new technology of combustion in the Czech Republic Wood has long been burned to produce heat and in the Czech Republic, wood was traditionally widely used as a fuel since it has always been relatively plentiful. Combusting wood in traditional wood stoves was notorious for causing air pollution (Launhardt, 1998). Emissions of pollutants relating to wood burning furnaces are usually a consequence of incomplete combustion caused by a high content of water in the fuel. Incomplete combustion often also occurs due to the lack of control over the combustion process leading to pollution in the flue gases. New technologies, however, are able to achieve low emissions (Launhardt, 1998). Such technologies began to appear in
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the Czech Republic in the 1990s (Selong, 1998) and it is estimated that before 2002 about 30,000 efficient wood burning boilers were sold in the country (Sladky, 2002). This relatively high interest appears to have been a response to three factors, a growing enthusiasm about environmental issues, perceived availability of wood and local production of appliances. During the 1970s and 1980s, extensive use of lignite as a fuel for electricity generation and for heavy industry made Czechoslovakia one of the worst polluted areas in Europe. Popular protest against air pollution became a major factor in political change. The environmental crisis was seen in the late 1980s as more serious than the economic one (Vanek, 1996) and a desire to reduce domestic pollution was an important factor in choice of fuel (Jehlickova, 2003). Wood was the preferred and cheapest fuel for those living close to suitable sources and without the access to gas supply (Tuttle, 1980; Jehlickova, 2003). Between the early 1960s and mid-1990s a growing number of random or ‘salvage’ fellings were recorded (Ministry for Agriculture of the Czech Republic, 2001) that also created a perception that wood fuel is abundant. In the new market economy local companies started producing efficient, wood burning boilers such as Verner. This cost h950–1250 in 1996, and gained an ‘Environmentally friendly product’ label from the Czech Ministry for the Environment in the 1990s (Jehlickova, 2003). In these newly designed combustors the particleladen flue gases that in conventional stoves would be released into the atmosphere are drawn instead into a second chamber where they are combusted along with other fuel gases. These combustors are based on pyrolysis and are designed for burning dry wooden fuel (ideally with 20 per cent of moisture), such as logs, waste wood from logging, cuttings and sawdust. These boilers can be also adjusted for burning wooden briquettes and pellets (Hanousek, 2001). The requirement for a very dry fuel in order to minimize pollution puts great pressure on individual users of this technology. Wood is a bulk fuel with a low heating value. As the energy content of wood is around 15 MJ kg 1 when airdried to 20 per cent moisture, its storage demands a considerable space. Beranovsky et al. (1995) estimate that generating all heat for an average Czech family house from wood requires approximately 19 cubic metres of wood a year. Ideally, wood fuel should be left to dry for 2 years in order to reach 20 per cent moisture content. Since fuel wood is usually sold fresh, users need a 2-year supply of wood fuel. Transporting wood over long distances also has serious environmental and economic effects. Therefore efficient procurement of wood is an essential requirement for application of wood combusting technology should it be economically and environmentally sustainable. 3. Availability of wood in the Czech Republic More than 33 per cent of the whole area of the Czech Republic is covered by forest which is similar to the general
average forest cover among the European Union memberstates. In 2001, forests covered 2,638,917 ha of the country, out of which forests managed for commercial purposes represented 76.3 per cent (FMI, 2001). About 63 per cent of forests are owned by the state, 15 per cent by municipalities and 22 per cent are privately owned. The current recorded fellings in the Czech Republic are approximately 14 million cubic metres a year (CSO and MoA, 2001). Simanov (2002) estimates that due to processing-related losses, this actually represents only between 46 and 50 per cent of the whole production of felled timber. It means that approximately the same amount of wood that is produced and statistically recorded is unused (Simanov, 2002). Based on Simanov’s estimate, another 14 million cubic meters of woody material could potentially be used as an energy resource. In reality, however, ecological, economic and technical factors mean that only approximately one-third of the current fellings would be useable in this way. This represents almost 5 million cubic meters of wood a year (Simanov, 2002). This is similar to the amount used annually for space heating in Finland, with a population of 5 million, although the number of households involved is not known (Alakangas, 1998). It was estimated that a system of central heating in an average Czech family house uses 90,000 MJ a year including water heating (Beranovsky et al., 1995). The same authors also estimate that when a modern wood burning boiler is installed with an efficiency of 82 per cent, this equates to a gross output of 110,000 MJ a year. This energy can be produced by combustion of about 7700 kg of wood (Beranovsky et al., 1995). A household using this particular boiler needs about 19 cubic meters of wood of average density 400 kg m 3 (Beranovsky et al., 1995). By implication the potential five million cubic meters of fuel wood would supply 260,000 households in the Czech Republic. With the total population of 10,500,000 and 4,271,000 households (CSO and MoA, 2001) approximately 6.2 per cent households could be heated with sustainably obtained waste wood on this basis. To achieve this level of sustainable usage, it is likely that government assistance would be required. 4. Promotion of biomass as a renewable energy resource by the Czech government Biomass as a renewable energy resource has been systematically promoted since the mid-1990s by the Czech government along with other renewable energy resources. Promotion of renewables is a part of the current energy policy in the Czech Republic. It is included in the Energy Policy document (Energeticka politika, 2000) and Energy Management Act (Zakon o hospodareni s energii, 2000). The Energy Policy document prepared by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and approved by the government of the Czech Republic on 12 January 2000, formulates goals of energy management in the Czech Republic. It defines
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priorities and targets for the Czech energy sector in forthcoming years, and associated policy instruments. A part of the document is an outlook for 15–20 years which is to be reassessed at least every 2 years. In the area of renewable energy resources the Energy Policy document sets out as a goal ‘to create a functional, non-discriminatory, transparent and motivating system of support of possible savings of energy, exploitation of renewable energy resources with a special emphasis on biomass’ (Energeticka politika, 2000). One way of achieving this goal is to promote the use of biomass with the help of the State Programme for Support of Energy Savings and Exploitation of Renewable Energy Resources (‘Savings and Renewables Programme’, hereafter SAR Programme). The document also requires ‘the implementation of the national programmes ensuing from the 2000 Energy Management Act, including the system of financing’. The Energy Policy document refers to and claims compatibility with similar systems in EU member states (Energeticka politika, 2000). Although the document does not regard renewable energy resources as the critical ones within the time frame of contemporary energy policy, it assumes that their exploitation will represent an important regional and local contribution to production of energy. Subject to limits of transport cost effectiveness, the greatest importance is ascribed to biomass (straw, hay and wood waste) and to the development of energy crops. The document also assumes an increasing exploitation of opportunities associated with set-aside agricultural land for cultivation of fast growing energy plants. The goal stipulated in the document is to increase the share of renewable energy resources in the total consumption of primary energy resources from the current 1.5 per cent to 3–6 per cent by 2010 and to 4–8 per cent by 2020. To achieve these targets is estimated to require an investment of CZK 242 billion (h7.6 billion) and CZK 42.5 billion (h1.3 billion) of financial donations from nonbudgetary sources such as the PHARE programme (Energeticka politika, 2000). The document also contains the calculation of the cost of the exploitation of the hypothetical full potential of renewable resources in the country and puts it at CZK 1250 billion (h39 billion) (Energeticka politika, 2000).
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THE SAR PROGRAMME
MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE (PART A)
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT (PART B)
SEF
CEA
FREE ADVISORY SUBSIDIES SERVIS&EDUCAFOR TIONAL COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES and INDIVIDUAL EDUCATIONAL PROJECTS PROGRAMMES TERRITORIAL AIMED AT ENERGY EKIS RENEWABLE PLANNING ENERGIES
SUBSIDIES FOR INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS
i-EKIS
Fig. 1. Government schemes under the SAR Programme relevant to biomass.
parts. Two of them are directly related to the use of biomass as a renewable energy resource used by individuals:
Part A: Ministry of Industry and Trade—via its subsidiary body the Czech Energy Agency (CEA); Part B: Ministry of Environment—via its subsidiary body the State Environmental Fund (SEF).
Between them, these are responsible for territorial energy planning, for financial support to bodies and individuals and for providing advice, as indicated by Fig. 1. 5.1. Part A of the SAR Programme run by the Czech Energy Agency
5. Government schemes No incentives aimed at conversion at the household level from a non-renewable energy resource to wood existed before 1999. The only available financial assistance was based on a decree allowing people in specific settlements of northern Bohemia, a region affected by severe air pollution, to apply for a financial contribution of maximum of CZK 15,000 (approximately h500) per household. The SAR Programme was adopted in November 1999 and launched in 2000. Four different ministries have been responsible for the implementation of its four individual
Since its foundation by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in 1995, CEA has initiated, supported and realized activities relating to impacts of energy generation on the environment. Part of its brief has been the preparation, realization and assessment of state programmes of energy efficiency and also the reduction of negative impacts on the environment from the consumption and transformation of all types of energy. CEA’s activities were divided into five areas: renewable and secondary resources of energy; territorial energy planning; the implementation of technological measures that increase efficiency; combined heat
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and electricity generation and the equipment for generation and distribution of energy (CEA, 2004). While CEA does not have a specific sub-programme dedicated explicitly to the promotion of biomass (or even fuel wood), four types of activities related to biomass can be distinguished within its support scheme (Fig. 1):
the funds available for community projects such as demonstration projects focused on combined heat and electricity generation from biomass; CEA offers grants to the private sector and nongovernmental organizations that wish to develop educational programmes that promote renewable energies; it supports the development of territorial energy planning by local authorities. These plans should balance the local use of energy in such a way that meeting the needs of the local economy and of social development takes into consideration environmental protection and the economical use of natural sources of energy; CEA’s subsidies support free advisory services for the wider public and the organization of educational activities focused on the economical use of renewable energy resources. For example, i-EKIS is an Internet advisory centre aimed at the reduction of energy consumption. It is a part of the wider advisory service EKIS CEA (a network of Energy Consultancy and Information Centres of the Czech Energy Agency) run by CEA.
The latter two—territorial energy planning and EKIS CEA (including i-EKIS)—are the areas of CEA activity most relevant to the use of wood for household heating.
5.2. Territorial energy planning Until relatively recently, the importance of energy management has not been recognized in the Czech Republic, although it has been an integral element of managing municipal energy in many EU member-states. The strategy of the territorial energy is based on the 2000 State Energy Policy. It comprises aims and principles of solutions on the regional level. It creates conditions for the use of energy in agreement with the needs of the economy and social development including environmental protection and economical use of natural sources of energy. Territorial energy plans are an obligatory foundation for territorial planning. Territorial plans are documents that state legally enforceable limits for land use and define areas for individual human activities within administrative units such as a municipality. Municipalities are obliged by Building Act (27 April 1976) to prepare territorial plans (Building Act, 1976).
5.3. EKIS CEA and i-EKIS According to information published by i-EKIS, in 2002, there were 60 EKIS centres, out of which 54 provided advice on renewable and secondary energy resources (iEKIS, 2002). EKIS centres were distributed among all 14 regions of the Czech Republic. In 2002, five of these centres operated as a part of ‘town advisory centres’ established by local governments, but the majority of them were privately owned. 5.4. Part B of the SAR Programme run by the State Environmental Fund The main aim of the Programme is to support exploitation of renewable energy resources by non-profit organizations such as schools funded from the state budget, organizations, municipalities, citizens’ associations, churches, non-profit organizations, associations of municipalities, legal entities founded by municipalities and enterprises. Individual citizens are also eligible to apply for grants when they want to buy environmentally friendly boilers burning wood. 6. Analysis of the means used by the Czech government to promote the use of waste wood as a renewable resource among individual users The following analysis looks in more detail at the selected individual means which the two government agencies—CEA and SEF—have to support and implement policy specifically focused on the increasing use of biomass as a renewable energy resource. 6.1. The role of CEA in the development of biomass-related projects Initiatives focusing on promotion of renewable energy resources among the public and business existed prior to the establishment of CEA. Between 1991 and 1995, 332 projects received interest-free loans from the then Energy Agency. However, none of these projects was aimed at biomass promotion (Selong, 1998). In 1995, the new State Programme for Fuel and Energy Conservation was established which provided the basis for the founding of CEA. While the establishment of CEA quickly resulted in the adoption of a new approach to energy conservation (Selong, 1998), its support for biomass projects had a much slower start. The Agency focused on demonstration projects supported by state funding which should ultimately lead to greater involvement of the public through information campaigns. In 1996, 39 projects, awarded the total of CZK 29 million (h0.9 million) were supported in both industrial and non-industrial sectors. They included one heat pump, 18 combined heat and electricity projects and 16 small hydro-power stations. A project on
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combustion of biomass appeared for the first time. Thirtyone projects totaling CZK 40 million (h1.25 million) were supported in 1997, out of which only one was a project on combustion of biomass. 6.1.1. EKIS CEA advisory services While the information on the CEA’s (lack of) financial support for biomass demonstration projects could be gleaned from its internal documents, the assessment of the role its EKIS service in the development of biomass energy at the household level required conducting a survey of the 54 EKIS centres. To find out what kind of information about biomass is sought by individuals interested in this way of heating their houses, a questionnaire was circulated to all EKIS. The first goal of the questionnaire was to establish the relative importance of biomass and wood as a fuel in the overall advisory output of these services. The second aim was to determine the type of questions being asked of the centres concerning the use of biomass and wood for domestic heating. The individual centres originally kept journals of consultations which they provided. Twenty-eight per cent of 54 approached EKIS centres responded to the questionnaire. According to their answers, 46 per cent of inquiries were about biomass (out of 1689 questions about renewable energy resources) and 71 per cent of questions on biomass directly related to heating with fuel wood. Questions regarding fuel wood came mostly from individual inquirers. All EKIS centres that answered the questionnaire suggested that the number of questions on fuel wood was either the same or growing. On two occasions (EKIS centres Jihlava and Hradec Kralove), the respondents suggested that the number of individual questions was growing as a result of the introduction of the government’s subsidies from the SAR Programme run by SEF. A substantial increment took place in the second quarter of 2002 following a massive advertising campaign of the subsidies programme which was launched by Atmos (a producer of boilers). As a result, 30 applications were submitted to the local EKIS in Hradec Kralove during June 2002 alone. Submission of applications was rapidly terminated for that year because all finanical resources for the year were allocated. Subsequently, the number of registered inquires related to biomass sharply dropped. Some other EKIS centres reported similar experiences. In aggregate, the answers to the questionnaire revealed that most frequently asked questions were those relating to combustion technology for wood. Questions on the availability of subsidies were asked less frequently, suggesting people were already well aware of the subsidies. Even less frequently asked questions were about general procurement of fuel wood and the least frequent enquieries concerned local procurement and availability of fuel. Two EKIS centres stated that they had never received a query about either procurement or local availability of wood. One of them also added that when this issue was raised with their clients, they claimed that ‘they had a huge stock
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of dry fuel wood at home’. This apparent complacency regarding the availability of wood does not correspond with the findings of a survey among people who already used wood as an energy resource (Jehlickova, 2003). It found that the users regarded the procurement of wood in sufficient quality and amount as the most problematic part and the prospects of local availability of wood almost as a mystery. The same study also found that problems relating to procurement also affect the way wood was handled as a fuel. The users interviewed in the study were unable to stock larger amounts of wood fuel usually because it was not easily available and therefore they often used fresh wood with a high water content. Mishandling of the fuel can lead to local air pollution (Koutsky et al., 2002; Launhardt, 1998). 6.1.2. Territorial energy planning As a part of regional energy management, territorial energy planning may have a significant importance for planning sustainable utilization of energy from wood (Energy Management Act, 2000). Although all Czech regions have been involved in preparation of their territorial energy plans (Wilda, 2003) their implementation may not be an unambiguous matter. Experts taking part in a 2001 Seminar jointly organized by the Prague-based energy efficiency agency SEVEn and Energy Cities-France supported the idea of energy plans in principle (Karnik, 2001). However, most of them found the idea of the inclusion of energy plans in the binding part of territorial plans as problematic. Any changes in the function and structure of parts of towns could be very expensive. Towns often have over expanded energy infrastructure with a service life up to 50 years and it will take considerable time before these investments are returned. The experts also argued that ‘at present, the most reliable and stable energy consumers are owners of apartment houses. Other consumers—local business premises and industry—are unstable in the long-term prospect’ (Karnik, 2001). However, the case of the territorial plan for the town of Policka provides evidence to the contrary. The document draws on a vast database of various characteristics of the town including the climate, population and housing. According to the town council’s environmental officer, the main reason for drawing up of an energy plan was the fact that many owners of newly privatized flats in apartment houses, previously owned by the council, believed that the prices of centrally supplied heat were excessively high (Coufal, pers. comm., 2002). They wanted to disconnect their flats from the central supply of heat and to build their own heating units. The root of the problem lay in the 1990s when the town made a large investment in gas-heating equipment. With growing prices of gas, people looked for alternative cheaper ways of heating. Furthermore, some parts of the town are unlikely ever to be connected to gas pipes because it would represent excessive financial burden on the town council.
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For these reasons the town council launched an initiative aimed at soliciting citizens’ views concerning their preferred forms of heat supply. At an early stage of the initiative, the town council considered financial support to individual households that would use biomass for domestic heating, ecological combustion of coal, heat pumps and wind power stations as a feasible option. Households that decide to use the renewable sources of energy were also eligible for grants from the SEF. The Policka energy plan also investigated the option and the potential of combustion of biomass for central supply of heat. The town with 9300 inhabitants owns 2065 ha of forests. Most other forests in the area are owned by the state. Another source is a local producer of biomass from farming on 2500 ha. Using the estimation method developed by Jiroudkova and Brandt (1997), according to which 10 ha of healthy forest are needed to satisfy one household’s needs of fuel wood in a sustainable way, it can be argued that town’s forests alone can provide wood fuel for 200 households. The Policka energy plan singled out suitable units, currently using other sources of energy, for future rebuilding with heating units combusting biomass. However, it did not see this conversion as a feasible option at present, certainly not before the service life of the current equipment expires. In this particular case, owners of apartment houses did not seem to be as reliable participants in the process of implementation of energy planning as suggested by Karnik (2001). It is likely that such cases also occur in other municipalities. When gas is brought to a municipality, the investor requires that the majority of households be connected to the gas pipe. The most cost-effective option from the house owners’ perspective is to have their house connected at the same time with the rest of the municipality. However, many house owners do not invest in gas boilers and cookers and carry on using other, cheaper sources of energy. From the point of view of the local council, this is an uneconomic behaviour equal to the situations when owners of apartment houses disconnect from central supply described in the case of Policka. The case of Jindrichovice pod Smrkem (population 620) demonstrates the potential of territorial energy planning as a successful instrument of the conversion towards biomass energy which, however, requires adherence to specific commitments. What makes this municipality’s territorial energy plan different from the majority is a long-term commitment to energy self-sufficiency. This village is therefore not obliged to pay off long-term debts for gas pipes. Utilization of renewable energy from wood has already become a feasible option in this municipality. The local council in this peripheral village surrounded by forests employs 30 people who would be otherwise unemployed. The low salaries of these people are paid by the council and supplemented by the state labour office to the level of the minimum income. These employees collect waste wood in the forests that are owned by the
municipality. Wood is then used to heat the local village hall, a local school, and a hostel for the elderly (Pavek, 2003). The local council also helps individuals who use waste wood to heat their homes by lending them a tractor with a trailer (Pavek, pers. comm., 2002). There is some indication then that territorial planning can be instrumental in the development of the potential of biomass energy, but clearly the commitments of the local authority to renewable energy seems crucial for a successful utilization of energy from wood. Significant limits to the interest or ability of a municipality in including biomass as a local renewable energy resource may be the past large financial investments in other, non-renewable resources such as gas. An active involvement of the local authority in the management of the local wood fuel seems instrumental to its use as a sustainable source. 6.2. The role of SEF in the development of biomass-related projects In its annual reports, the SEF divides energy projects into two groups. The first group concerns large projects. The second group offers financial support for investment projects that exploit environmentally friendly ways of space and water heating for flats and family houses. Generation of heat from biomass is supported in this part of the programme. To be eligible for application, the buildings have to comply with the current legal insulation standards. Prior to an application to the SEF, the applicant has to produce a professionally prepared document that describes in detail how biomass is planned to be exploited (Vlk, pers. comm., 2002). The building that is a subject of the project has to be assessed by an energy auditor (Decree, 2001a). The auditor has to assess whether the loss of heat from the building is within the legal limits (Decree, 2001b). If it exceeds the limits, insulation of the house has to be improved before the application can be processed. The application can then be considered only on condition that the applicant proves that they contributed at least 50 per cent of the total investment cost. The conditions of the programmes with which applicants have to comply can be changed every year. The total sum for this programme in 2001 was approximately CZK 1 billion (h31 million) in comparison with the CZK 700 million (h22 million) in the previous year. Out of the 1 billion allocated for projects in 2001, about 400 million (h12.5 million) were used for the operatioal costs of the programme (Havlickova and Ruzickova, 2001). According to the SEF’s report on its activities in 2001, there were 4 communal projects for biomass boilers subsidized in 1999 (SEF, 2002b). In 2000, 11 projects (3 private and 8 municipal) were subsidized. A sharp growth in subsidized projects with biomass boilers took place in 2001 when 88 projects were subsidized. In the same year, 913 applications for all small projects were submitted and approved (or received funding) and the total subsidy
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Table 1 Projects realized by individuals in 2001 (SEF, 2002b) Year 2001 (all small projectsa)
January–June 2001, Small projects with biomass
Pollutant
Gas (t/yr)
Particulates SO2 NOX CO CXHY CO2 Total Total investment by SEF
115.8 17.4 299.3 65.9 10,023 105,522.1 116,448,000 CZK
a
Particles (t/yr)
Gas (t/yr)
68.3
Particles (t/yr) 2.874
68.3 2,280,000 CZK
5.542 0.129 14.89 3.084 530.1 553.745
Result of approximation of 321 cases then related to 913 applications.
for them amounted to CZK 116,448,000 (h3,639,000). Small projects are projects submitted by individual people applying for energy upgrading of their family houses. In the first half of 2001, for example, 34 applications were awarded for small projects for biomass boilers (SEF, 2002a). The sum of money subsidizing these projects was approximately CZK 2,280,000 (h71,250). As a comparison, in the same period, there were 96 applications awarded for solar collectors with CZK 10,709,000 allocated (h334,656) and 191 projects for heat pumps with CZK 21,724,000 allocated (h678,875). Applicants can apply for financial support either directly to the SEF or, since January 2002, at 14 regional SEF offices. As a result of the accomplishment of projects under Part B of the SAR Programme implemented by the Ministry of Environment’ SEF, the total reduction of annual emissions of gaseous pollutants in the air was expected to be 548 tonnes of SO2, 493 tonnes of NOX, 916 tonnes of CO, 191 tonnes of CXHY, 45 644 tonnes of CO2 and 363 tonnes of particulates (Novak, 2002). This was probably due largely to the replacement of coal and lignite fuels (Table 1). According to CEA’s method of assessment of the reduction of greenhouse gases in energy projects, a reference level of emissions, so called ‘basic development curve of a project’ is set. It means setting a basic development curve for each variable (consumption of fuels, losses in the source, losses in pipes, final consumption of energy, financial investments and relating emissions of greenhouse gases) when the original technology is used and then it is compared with the development curve when the new technical solution is implemented. This approach is used to compare individual projects and identifies environmental benefits of realized projects. In most cases, there is a standardized method for each group of projects. The IPCC method (CEA, 2003) is used for calculating CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Some financial support for non-investment and nonprofit projects is also available in Part B in the sphere of non-renewable energy resources, such as building public awareness and consultancy provided by the state administration and non-governmental organizations.
The number of projects supported by the SAR Programme in Part B is growing. However, its overall success is not assessed as unambiguously positive. According to the Minister of the Environment Libor Ambrozek (2003), the reality is different from what was anticipated by the government when the programme was approved. At the beginning of its existence, 1.5 per cent of consumption of primary energy sources at that time was regarded as the annual realistic increase of savings generated by renewables. It would require investments of about CZK 6–8 billion (h187,500,000–250,000,000) which would represent about CZK 2.5 billion (h78,125,000) allocated to the SAR Programme. However, the financial resources provided by the government have never reached 50 per cent of what was promised. In the year 2000, for example, the sum allocated to the SAR Programme was less than 25 per cent of the financial incentives anticipated by the government. 7. Discussion and conclusions As a consequence of the implementation of EU renewable energy policy, substantial changes have taken place during the pre-accession period of the Czech Republic’s harmonization with the EU in the area of the use of biomass as an energy resource. Since the late 1990s, the government’s policy addressing the issue of wood fuel has become more focused on promoting generation of heat from wood. There are financial incentives available to private individuals who want to switch from a nonrenewable energy resource to heat their houses with wood. These incentives have been very popular and get quickly used up each year. Since 2003, they have become more accessible since it is now possible to apply for them through the 14 regional contact points of the SEF (2005). These incentives have boosted the growth in the use of biomass as a sustainable energy resource and have been praised by the countries that have been most successful at the use of biomass such as Denmark (Country picture Denmark, 2001) and Austria (Wolgemuth, 1998) or other postcommunist Central European countries such as Slovakia, Slovenia or Poland (ForBiom, 2004). However, they do not
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necessarily guarantee that the renewable energy is generated in a sustainable way since the policies do not take into account all the stages in the supply of wood fuel. General figures published by the Czech Forest Management Institute (FMI, 2002) exist on the amount of exploitable wood in regions and districts. Although they are being developed, territorial plans of renewable energy resources on a large scale that would indicate how much of the fuel wood source is used and available locally have not been available so far. In the absence of clear ideas on the availability of the resource on the local basis, the provision of financial support and information could lead to shortterm over-exploitation of wood resources. The Czech government has also sought to create a free information network (CEA, 2005). The information provided by the information network is mostly on suitable technology, availability of technology and government’s subsidies. This is also the information most often sought by the general public interested in heating with wood. There is much less demand for information on procurement of wood or its local availability. However, despite the hitherto long-term stable situation in wood production in the Czech Republic, there is no certainty that there will be always a constant supply of wood of a required quality. Industries processing waste wood increasingly use more wood of poorer quality, reducing the amount that is on offer as a fuel (Simanov, 1993). This may significantly reduce availability of wood to individual users, lead to excessive demands on new growth wood at the expense of sustainability and create a situation where wood has to be transported for long distances with significant environmental effects. Territorial planning may represent a significant change in management of wood as a fuel. Wood is a scattered resource of energy and the people who use it to heat their houses are also scattered. This makes it essential that procurement of wood be tackled at the local level. It would be beneficial if local councils played a more significant role when energy plans become a part of territorial plans. Local councils, for example, could make efforts to bring together scattered partners such as suppliers of technology, sawmills and households in order to motivate and inform local people or potential consumers. In cases when local councils decide to support the use of biomass among the public, they need to guarantee consumers the access to information not only on the appropriate equipment but also on the procurement and handling of the fuel wood. The problems surrounding procurement of biomass as an energy resource have not been tackled by the government policies (Jehlickova, 2003). Similar barriers to successful development of the use of wood as a renewable energy resource identified in this paper have been also found in other countries in central Europe—in Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia (ForBiom, 2004). For instance, Poland reported a poorly developed market with wood fuels, including insufficient supply infrastructure while Slovakia lacks know-how and suffers
from low awareness and insufficient co-operation among stakeholders (ForBiom, 2004). Evidence was found that wood as a fuel has been mostly promoted by the Czech government policy through financial incentives and dissemination of information. However, if heating with wood is to be sustainable, the sequence of steps from procurement of fuel to combustion should be conceptualized by the authorities as an integrated process that considers environmental implications at each stage. The principles of energy management as a part of energy policy need to shift from the top down to the bottom up perspective comprising local authorities, energy agencies and individual consumers. References Alakangas, E., 1998. Versatile dissemination of bioenergy information in Finland. In: Proceedings of the 10th Conference and Exhibition ‘‘Biomass for Energy and Industry’’, Wurzburg, Germany, 8–11 June 1998. CARMEN (Centrales Agrar-Rohstof-Marketing und Entwicklungs-Netzwerk), Straubing, Germany, pp. 1207–1210. Ambrozek, L., 2003. Vyuziva CR alternativni zdroje dostatecne? Literarni noviny, 22 April 2003, p.16. Beranovsky, J., Jurica, J., Prchlik, L., Truxa, J., 1995. Ekonomicke hodnoceni obnovitelnych zdroju energie, Praha EkoWatt. Building Act, 1976. y 17 Building Act No. 50/1976 Coll, Prague. CEA, 2003. Metodika stanovenı´ celkovych redukcı´ emisı´ sklenı´ kovych plynu dosazenych behem doby zivotnosti realizovanych opatrenı´ , Praha (http://www.ceacr.cz). CEA, 2004. Introduction to CEA, Prague (http://www.ceacr.cz). CEA, 2005. Srediska a poradci EKIS pro rok 2004, Prague (http://www. ceacr.cz). Commission of the European Communities, 1997. Energy for the future: renewable sources of energy. White paper for a Community Strategy and Action Plan. Communication from the Commission COM (97) 599 final, Brussels. Coufal, J., 2002. Personal communication. Territorial Energy Plan of Policka, Policka. Country picture Denmark, 2001. Austrian Energy Agency (http://www. energyagency.at/(en)/opet/bioboiler/den_cp). CSO and MoA, 2001. (Czech Statistical Office and Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic), 2001. Ceske domacnosti ve svete scitani lidu, domu a bytu 2001, The Czech Statistical Office (http://www.czo.cz/ csu/csu.nsf/informace/TISLDB). Decree, 2001a. Decree of Ministry for Industry and Trade of CR on audits No. 213/2001 Coll., Prague. Decree, 2001b. Decree of the Ministry for Industry and Trade of CR, CSN 730540, No. 291/2001Coll., Prague. Energeticka politika, 2000. Act number 50 of the Czech Government, Prague (http://www.energetik.cz). Energy Management Act, 2000. Act No. 406/2000 Coll., of the Czech Government, Prague. FMI, 2001. Zprava o stavu lesa za rok 2001, Ustav hospodarske obnovy lesa. Brandys nad Labem (http://www.uhul.cz). FMI, 2002. Ustav pro hospodarskou obnovu lesa, Brandys nad Labem. (http://www.uhul.cz). ForBiom, 2004. Biomass technologies & experiences with biomass utilisation. Final Report, ForBiom Project Phase II, November 2004, Save Programme (http://www.svn.cz/html/forbiom/docs/Phase2_ Report_Forbiom.pdf). Hanousek, M., 2001. Topime drevem, Prague, Czech Republic, Grada Publishing, s.r.o. Havlickova, M., Ruzickova,, M., 2001. State Programme of support for energy saving and use of renewable energy sources. Energy Economic Bulletin for the Czech Republic, Prague, SEVEn.
ARTICLE IN PRESS B. Jehlickova, R. Morris / Energy Policy 35 (2007) 577–585 i-EKIS, 2002 (www.i-ekis.cz). Jiroudkova, M., Brandt, D., 1997. Vyuziti biomasy v oblasti cerneho trojuhelniku. In: Proceedings of the Conference ‘‘The Use o Biomass in Energy Production’’, Opocno, Czech Republic, 3 September 1997, pp. 9–17. Jehlickova, B., 2003. The future of biomass as a renewable energy resource in the Czech Republic: the case of waste wood. Unpublished M.Phil. Thesis, Open University, Milton Keynes. Karnik, J., 2001. Energy policy of Czech towns in comparison with EU countries. Zpravodaj SEVEnu 9 (1), 3. Koutsky, M., Dittrich, M., Vosta, J., 2002. Biomasa a zivotni prostredi— rizika tvorby dioxinu pri spalovani biomasy a mozne zpusoby jeji eliminace. In: Proceedings of the Conference as a part of Energy Efficiency Business Week, November 5–7 2002, SEVEn—The Energy Efficiency Center, Prague, Czech Republic. Launhardt, T., 1998. Formation of dioxins and PAH in domestic wood furnaces—contamination of flue gas, ashes and chimney soot. Published in the Proceedings of the 10th Conference and Exhibition ‘‘Biomass for Energy and Industry’’, Wurzburg, Germany, 8–11 June 1998, pp. 249–252, CARMEN (Centrales Agrar-Rohstoff-Marketing und Entwicklungs-Netwerk), Straubing, Germany. Mayer, N.I., 2003. European schemes for promoting renewables in liberalised markets. Energy Policy 31, 665–676. Ministry for Agriculture of the Czech Republic, 2001. Report on Forestry of the Czech Republic, compiled by the Institute for Forest Management, Brandys nad Labem. Novak, L., 2002. Personal communication Eprinosy, SFZP (http://www. sfzp.cz). Pavek, P., 2002. Personal communication with mayor of Jindrichovice pod Smrkem (Prague), November 7, 2002. Pavek, P., 2003. V Jindrichovicich nezacali zadnym vetrnickem, Bio Noviny, 3 July 2003 (http://jindrichovice.cz/www/basic.php?section=artcle&art_id=92&art_lang=cz). Selong, D., 1998. Hodnoceni statni podpory rozvoje obnovitelnych zdroju energie a kogenerace v ramci Ceske energeticke agentury Ministerstva
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prumyslu a obchodu CR za leta 1991–1997 a predbezneho zhodnoceni roku 1998, BIOM (http://wwwczbiom.ecn.cz). Simanov, V., 2002. Palivo nebo organicka hmota? Odlisne pohledy na vyuziti odpadniho dreva z lesnich tezeb, LEA (http://wwwecn.cz). Simanov, V., 1993. Drevo jako energeticka surovina, Praha, Ministerstvo zemedelstvi CR, Agrospoj. Sladky, V., 2002. Moznosti, zkusenosti a ekonomicka proveditelnost vyuziti biomasy pro energeticke vyuziti. In: Proceedings of the Conference as a part of Energy Efficiency Business Week, November 5–7, 2002, SEVEn—The Energy Efficiency Center Prague, Czech Republic. State Environmental Fund, 2002a. Aktuality, State Environmental Fund, Prague (http://www.sfzp.cz). State Environmental Fund, 2002b. Investice a ekologicke prinosy akci kladnych rozhodnuti v roce 2001, State Environmental Fund (http:// www.sfzp.cz). State Environmental Fund, 2005. Zadosti o podporu, State Environmental Fund, Prague (http://www.sfzp.cz). Tuttle, W.J., 1980. Alternative procurement methods for fuel wood consumer groups. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Syracuse, State University of New York. Vanek, M., 1996. Nedalo se tady dychat, Praha, Ustav pro soudobe dejiny AV CR, Maxdorf. Vlk, V., 2002. Personal communication (http://www.i-ekis.cz). Wilda,V., 2003. Vztahy mezi statni energetickou koncepci a uzemnimi energetickymi koncepcemi. Energetika 3/2003 (http://www. energetik.cz/). Wolgemuth, N., 1998. The role of renewable energy technlogies in a systems approach: an effective promotion strategy under multipleobjectives consideration. In: Proceedings of the 10th Conference and Exhibition ‘‘Biomass for Energy and Industry’’, Wurzburg, Germany, 8–11 June 1998. CARMEN (Centrales Agrar-RohstofMarketing und Entwicklungs-Netzwerk), Straubing, Germany, pp. 1207–1210. Zakon o hospodareni s energii, 2000 (http://www.energetik.cz).
Energy Policy 35 (2007) 577–585 www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol
Effectiveness of policy instruments for supporting the use of waste wood as a renewable energy resource in the Czech Republic Bohumira Jehlickovaa,, Richard Morrisb,1 a
5, High Street, Great Linford, Milton Keynes, MK14 5AX, UK b Faculty of Technology, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK Available online 23 February 2006
Abstract This paper focuses on an examination of the government’s strategy for encouraging the use of wood as a renewable fuel in Czech households. It examines the development of modern combustion technology and its impact on the environment. It describes the estimated requirement for wood by an average household and examines the overall availability of wood as a renewable fuel in the Czech Republic. The paper analyses in detail the policy instruments used by the Czech government to promote the use of this technology. It evaluates the impact of this policy on the users of the technology and practical achievements of the policy measures with respect to the overall objective that is the promotion of generation of renewable energy. r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Biomass energy; Renewables policy; Czech Republic
1. Introduction Biomass has been found to be a viable renewable energy option in many European countries (Alakangas, 1998; Country picture Denmark, 2001; ForBiom, 2004; Simanov, 2002; Wolgemuth, 1998). In the form of waste wood, biomass also has a potential under particular conditions as a modern and environmentally friendly source of thermal energy for individual dwellings, when used with appropriately designed appliances. The potentially positive impact on the environment is an important feature of biofuel technologies that are promoted as a part of sustainable renewable energy policy initiatives of the European Union (Commission of the European Communities, 1997). However, the processes that introduce renewable technologies into a market may also not be very effective in extending the use of clean energy sources (Mayer, 2003). This paper examines the Czech government’s strategy for encouraging the use of wood for household heating and some of the consequences of this policy. It starts by outlining the development of modern combustion Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 1908 394941.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (B. Jehlickova), [email protected] (R. Morris). 1 Senior visiting Research Fellow. 0301-4215/$ - see front matter r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2005.12.024
technology, and proceeds to examine the availability of wood as a renewable fuel in the Czech Republic. The paper then examines the Czech government’s policy aimed at the promotion of the use of wood as an energy resource in households. Finally, it evaluates the practical achievements and consequences of this policy and attempts to assess the extent to which the policy delivers its stated objective—the promotion of more renewable energy resources. 2. Wood and new technology of combustion in the Czech Republic Wood has long been burned to produce heat and in the Czech Republic, wood was traditionally widely used as a fuel since it has always been relatively plentiful. Combusting wood in traditional wood stoves was notorious for causing air pollution (Launhardt, 1998). Emissions of pollutants relating to wood burning furnaces are usually a consequence of incomplete combustion caused by a high content of water in the fuel. Incomplete combustion often also occurs due to the lack of control over the combustion process leading to pollution in the flue gases. New technologies, however, are able to achieve low emissions (Launhardt, 1998). Such technologies began to appear in
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the Czech Republic in the 1990s (Selong, 1998) and it is estimated that before 2002 about 30,000 efficient wood burning boilers were sold in the country (Sladky, 2002). This relatively high interest appears to have been a response to three factors, a growing enthusiasm about environmental issues, perceived availability of wood and local production of appliances. During the 1970s and 1980s, extensive use of lignite as a fuel for electricity generation and for heavy industry made Czechoslovakia one of the worst polluted areas in Europe. Popular protest against air pollution became a major factor in political change. The environmental crisis was seen in the late 1980s as more serious than the economic one (Vanek, 1996) and a desire to reduce domestic pollution was an important factor in choice of fuel (Jehlickova, 2003). Wood was the preferred and cheapest fuel for those living close to suitable sources and without the access to gas supply (Tuttle, 1980; Jehlickova, 2003). Between the early 1960s and mid-1990s a growing number of random or ‘salvage’ fellings were recorded (Ministry for Agriculture of the Czech Republic, 2001) that also created a perception that wood fuel is abundant. In the new market economy local companies started producing efficient, wood burning boilers such as Verner. This cost h950–1250 in 1996, and gained an ‘Environmentally friendly product’ label from the Czech Ministry for the Environment in the 1990s (Jehlickova, 2003). In these newly designed combustors the particleladen flue gases that in conventional stoves would be released into the atmosphere are drawn instead into a second chamber where they are combusted along with other fuel gases. These combustors are based on pyrolysis and are designed for burning dry wooden fuel (ideally with 20 per cent of moisture), such as logs, waste wood from logging, cuttings and sawdust. These boilers can be also adjusted for burning wooden briquettes and pellets (Hanousek, 2001). The requirement for a very dry fuel in order to minimize pollution puts great pressure on individual users of this technology. Wood is a bulk fuel with a low heating value. As the energy content of wood is around 15 MJ kg 1 when airdried to 20 per cent moisture, its storage demands a considerable space. Beranovsky et al. (1995) estimate that generating all heat for an average Czech family house from wood requires approximately 19 cubic metres of wood a year. Ideally, wood fuel should be left to dry for 2 years in order to reach 20 per cent moisture content. Since fuel wood is usually sold fresh, users need a 2-year supply of wood fuel. Transporting wood over long distances also has serious environmental and economic effects. Therefore efficient procurement of wood is an essential requirement for application of wood combusting technology should it be economically and environmentally sustainable. 3. Availability of wood in the Czech Republic More than 33 per cent of the whole area of the Czech Republic is covered by forest which is similar to the general
average forest cover among the European Union memberstates. In 2001, forests covered 2,638,917 ha of the country, out of which forests managed for commercial purposes represented 76.3 per cent (FMI, 2001). About 63 per cent of forests are owned by the state, 15 per cent by municipalities and 22 per cent are privately owned. The current recorded fellings in the Czech Republic are approximately 14 million cubic metres a year (CSO and MoA, 2001). Simanov (2002) estimates that due to processing-related losses, this actually represents only between 46 and 50 per cent of the whole production of felled timber. It means that approximately the same amount of wood that is produced and statistically recorded is unused (Simanov, 2002). Based on Simanov’s estimate, another 14 million cubic meters of woody material could potentially be used as an energy resource. In reality, however, ecological, economic and technical factors mean that only approximately one-third of the current fellings would be useable in this way. This represents almost 5 million cubic meters of wood a year (Simanov, 2002). This is similar to the amount used annually for space heating in Finland, with a population of 5 million, although the number of households involved is not known (Alakangas, 1998). It was estimated that a system of central heating in an average Czech family house uses 90,000 MJ a year including water heating (Beranovsky et al., 1995). The same authors also estimate that when a modern wood burning boiler is installed with an efficiency of 82 per cent, this equates to a gross output of 110,000 MJ a year. This energy can be produced by combustion of about 7700 kg of wood (Beranovsky et al., 1995). A household using this particular boiler needs about 19 cubic meters of wood of average density 400 kg m 3 (Beranovsky et al., 1995). By implication the potential five million cubic meters of fuel wood would supply 260,000 households in the Czech Republic. With the total population of 10,500,000 and 4,271,000 households (CSO and MoA, 2001) approximately 6.2 per cent households could be heated with sustainably obtained waste wood on this basis. To achieve this level of sustainable usage, it is likely that government assistance would be required. 4. Promotion of biomass as a renewable energy resource by the Czech government Biomass as a renewable energy resource has been systematically promoted since the mid-1990s by the Czech government along with other renewable energy resources. Promotion of renewables is a part of the current energy policy in the Czech Republic. It is included in the Energy Policy document (Energeticka politika, 2000) and Energy Management Act (Zakon o hospodareni s energii, 2000). The Energy Policy document prepared by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and approved by the government of the Czech Republic on 12 January 2000, formulates goals of energy management in the Czech Republic. It defines
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priorities and targets for the Czech energy sector in forthcoming years, and associated policy instruments. A part of the document is an outlook for 15–20 years which is to be reassessed at least every 2 years. In the area of renewable energy resources the Energy Policy document sets out as a goal ‘to create a functional, non-discriminatory, transparent and motivating system of support of possible savings of energy, exploitation of renewable energy resources with a special emphasis on biomass’ (Energeticka politika, 2000). One way of achieving this goal is to promote the use of biomass with the help of the State Programme for Support of Energy Savings and Exploitation of Renewable Energy Resources (‘Savings and Renewables Programme’, hereafter SAR Programme). The document also requires ‘the implementation of the national programmes ensuing from the 2000 Energy Management Act, including the system of financing’. The Energy Policy document refers to and claims compatibility with similar systems in EU member states (Energeticka politika, 2000). Although the document does not regard renewable energy resources as the critical ones within the time frame of contemporary energy policy, it assumes that their exploitation will represent an important regional and local contribution to production of energy. Subject to limits of transport cost effectiveness, the greatest importance is ascribed to biomass (straw, hay and wood waste) and to the development of energy crops. The document also assumes an increasing exploitation of opportunities associated with set-aside agricultural land for cultivation of fast growing energy plants. The goal stipulated in the document is to increase the share of renewable energy resources in the total consumption of primary energy resources from the current 1.5 per cent to 3–6 per cent by 2010 and to 4–8 per cent by 2020. To achieve these targets is estimated to require an investment of CZK 242 billion (h7.6 billion) and CZK 42.5 billion (h1.3 billion) of financial donations from nonbudgetary sources such as the PHARE programme (Energeticka politika, 2000). The document also contains the calculation of the cost of the exploitation of the hypothetical full potential of renewable resources in the country and puts it at CZK 1250 billion (h39 billion) (Energeticka politika, 2000).
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THE SAR PROGRAMME
MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE (PART A)
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT (PART B)
SEF
CEA
FREE ADVISORY SUBSIDIES SERVIS&EDUCAFOR TIONAL COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES and INDIVIDUAL EDUCATIONAL PROJECTS PROGRAMMES TERRITORIAL AIMED AT ENERGY EKIS RENEWABLE PLANNING ENERGIES
SUBSIDIES FOR INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS
i-EKIS
Fig. 1. Government schemes under the SAR Programme relevant to biomass.
parts. Two of them are directly related to the use of biomass as a renewable energy resource used by individuals:
Part A: Ministry of Industry and Trade—via its subsidiary body the Czech Energy Agency (CEA); Part B: Ministry of Environment—via its subsidiary body the State Environmental Fund (SEF).
Between them, these are responsible for territorial energy planning, for financial support to bodies and individuals and for providing advice, as indicated by Fig. 1. 5.1. Part A of the SAR Programme run by the Czech Energy Agency
5. Government schemes No incentives aimed at conversion at the household level from a non-renewable energy resource to wood existed before 1999. The only available financial assistance was based on a decree allowing people in specific settlements of northern Bohemia, a region affected by severe air pollution, to apply for a financial contribution of maximum of CZK 15,000 (approximately h500) per household. The SAR Programme was adopted in November 1999 and launched in 2000. Four different ministries have been responsible for the implementation of its four individual
Since its foundation by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in 1995, CEA has initiated, supported and realized activities relating to impacts of energy generation on the environment. Part of its brief has been the preparation, realization and assessment of state programmes of energy efficiency and also the reduction of negative impacts on the environment from the consumption and transformation of all types of energy. CEA’s activities were divided into five areas: renewable and secondary resources of energy; territorial energy planning; the implementation of technological measures that increase efficiency; combined heat
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and electricity generation and the equipment for generation and distribution of energy (CEA, 2004). While CEA does not have a specific sub-programme dedicated explicitly to the promotion of biomass (or even fuel wood), four types of activities related to biomass can be distinguished within its support scheme (Fig. 1):
the funds available for community projects such as demonstration projects focused on combined heat and electricity generation from biomass; CEA offers grants to the private sector and nongovernmental organizations that wish to develop educational programmes that promote renewable energies; it supports the development of territorial energy planning by local authorities. These plans should balance the local use of energy in such a way that meeting the needs of the local economy and of social development takes into consideration environmental protection and the economical use of natural sources of energy; CEA’s subsidies support free advisory services for the wider public and the organization of educational activities focused on the economical use of renewable energy resources. For example, i-EKIS is an Internet advisory centre aimed at the reduction of energy consumption. It is a part of the wider advisory service EKIS CEA (a network of Energy Consultancy and Information Centres of the Czech Energy Agency) run by CEA.
The latter two—territorial energy planning and EKIS CEA (including i-EKIS)—are the areas of CEA activity most relevant to the use of wood for household heating.
5.2. Territorial energy planning Until relatively recently, the importance of energy management has not been recognized in the Czech Republic, although it has been an integral element of managing municipal energy in many EU member-states. The strategy of the territorial energy is based on the 2000 State Energy Policy. It comprises aims and principles of solutions on the regional level. It creates conditions for the use of energy in agreement with the needs of the economy and social development including environmental protection and economical use of natural sources of energy. Territorial energy plans are an obligatory foundation for territorial planning. Territorial plans are documents that state legally enforceable limits for land use and define areas for individual human activities within administrative units such as a municipality. Municipalities are obliged by Building Act (27 April 1976) to prepare territorial plans (Building Act, 1976).
5.3. EKIS CEA and i-EKIS According to information published by i-EKIS, in 2002, there were 60 EKIS centres, out of which 54 provided advice on renewable and secondary energy resources (iEKIS, 2002). EKIS centres were distributed among all 14 regions of the Czech Republic. In 2002, five of these centres operated as a part of ‘town advisory centres’ established by local governments, but the majority of them were privately owned. 5.4. Part B of the SAR Programme run by the State Environmental Fund The main aim of the Programme is to support exploitation of renewable energy resources by non-profit organizations such as schools funded from the state budget, organizations, municipalities, citizens’ associations, churches, non-profit organizations, associations of municipalities, legal entities founded by municipalities and enterprises. Individual citizens are also eligible to apply for grants when they want to buy environmentally friendly boilers burning wood. 6. Analysis of the means used by the Czech government to promote the use of waste wood as a renewable resource among individual users The following analysis looks in more detail at the selected individual means which the two government agencies—CEA and SEF—have to support and implement policy specifically focused on the increasing use of biomass as a renewable energy resource. 6.1. The role of CEA in the development of biomass-related projects Initiatives focusing on promotion of renewable energy resources among the public and business existed prior to the establishment of CEA. Between 1991 and 1995, 332 projects received interest-free loans from the then Energy Agency. However, none of these projects was aimed at biomass promotion (Selong, 1998). In 1995, the new State Programme for Fuel and Energy Conservation was established which provided the basis for the founding of CEA. While the establishment of CEA quickly resulted in the adoption of a new approach to energy conservation (Selong, 1998), its support for biomass projects had a much slower start. The Agency focused on demonstration projects supported by state funding which should ultimately lead to greater involvement of the public through information campaigns. In 1996, 39 projects, awarded the total of CZK 29 million (h0.9 million) were supported in both industrial and non-industrial sectors. They included one heat pump, 18 combined heat and electricity projects and 16 small hydro-power stations. A project on
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combustion of biomass appeared for the first time. Thirtyone projects totaling CZK 40 million (h1.25 million) were supported in 1997, out of which only one was a project on combustion of biomass. 6.1.1. EKIS CEA advisory services While the information on the CEA’s (lack of) financial support for biomass demonstration projects could be gleaned from its internal documents, the assessment of the role its EKIS service in the development of biomass energy at the household level required conducting a survey of the 54 EKIS centres. To find out what kind of information about biomass is sought by individuals interested in this way of heating their houses, a questionnaire was circulated to all EKIS. The first goal of the questionnaire was to establish the relative importance of biomass and wood as a fuel in the overall advisory output of these services. The second aim was to determine the type of questions being asked of the centres concerning the use of biomass and wood for domestic heating. The individual centres originally kept journals of consultations which they provided. Twenty-eight per cent of 54 approached EKIS centres responded to the questionnaire. According to their answers, 46 per cent of inquiries were about biomass (out of 1689 questions about renewable energy resources) and 71 per cent of questions on biomass directly related to heating with fuel wood. Questions regarding fuel wood came mostly from individual inquirers. All EKIS centres that answered the questionnaire suggested that the number of questions on fuel wood was either the same or growing. On two occasions (EKIS centres Jihlava and Hradec Kralove), the respondents suggested that the number of individual questions was growing as a result of the introduction of the government’s subsidies from the SAR Programme run by SEF. A substantial increment took place in the second quarter of 2002 following a massive advertising campaign of the subsidies programme which was launched by Atmos (a producer of boilers). As a result, 30 applications were submitted to the local EKIS in Hradec Kralove during June 2002 alone. Submission of applications was rapidly terminated for that year because all finanical resources for the year were allocated. Subsequently, the number of registered inquires related to biomass sharply dropped. Some other EKIS centres reported similar experiences. In aggregate, the answers to the questionnaire revealed that most frequently asked questions were those relating to combustion technology for wood. Questions on the availability of subsidies were asked less frequently, suggesting people were already well aware of the subsidies. Even less frequently asked questions were about general procurement of fuel wood and the least frequent enquieries concerned local procurement and availability of fuel. Two EKIS centres stated that they had never received a query about either procurement or local availability of wood. One of them also added that when this issue was raised with their clients, they claimed that ‘they had a huge stock
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of dry fuel wood at home’. This apparent complacency regarding the availability of wood does not correspond with the findings of a survey among people who already used wood as an energy resource (Jehlickova, 2003). It found that the users regarded the procurement of wood in sufficient quality and amount as the most problematic part and the prospects of local availability of wood almost as a mystery. The same study also found that problems relating to procurement also affect the way wood was handled as a fuel. The users interviewed in the study were unable to stock larger amounts of wood fuel usually because it was not easily available and therefore they often used fresh wood with a high water content. Mishandling of the fuel can lead to local air pollution (Koutsky et al., 2002; Launhardt, 1998). 6.1.2. Territorial energy planning As a part of regional energy management, territorial energy planning may have a significant importance for planning sustainable utilization of energy from wood (Energy Management Act, 2000). Although all Czech regions have been involved in preparation of their territorial energy plans (Wilda, 2003) their implementation may not be an unambiguous matter. Experts taking part in a 2001 Seminar jointly organized by the Prague-based energy efficiency agency SEVEn and Energy Cities-France supported the idea of energy plans in principle (Karnik, 2001). However, most of them found the idea of the inclusion of energy plans in the binding part of territorial plans as problematic. Any changes in the function and structure of parts of towns could be very expensive. Towns often have over expanded energy infrastructure with a service life up to 50 years and it will take considerable time before these investments are returned. The experts also argued that ‘at present, the most reliable and stable energy consumers are owners of apartment houses. Other consumers—local business premises and industry—are unstable in the long-term prospect’ (Karnik, 2001). However, the case of the territorial plan for the town of Policka provides evidence to the contrary. The document draws on a vast database of various characteristics of the town including the climate, population and housing. According to the town council’s environmental officer, the main reason for drawing up of an energy plan was the fact that many owners of newly privatized flats in apartment houses, previously owned by the council, believed that the prices of centrally supplied heat were excessively high (Coufal, pers. comm., 2002). They wanted to disconnect their flats from the central supply of heat and to build their own heating units. The root of the problem lay in the 1990s when the town made a large investment in gas-heating equipment. With growing prices of gas, people looked for alternative cheaper ways of heating. Furthermore, some parts of the town are unlikely ever to be connected to gas pipes because it would represent excessive financial burden on the town council.
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For these reasons the town council launched an initiative aimed at soliciting citizens’ views concerning their preferred forms of heat supply. At an early stage of the initiative, the town council considered financial support to individual households that would use biomass for domestic heating, ecological combustion of coal, heat pumps and wind power stations as a feasible option. Households that decide to use the renewable sources of energy were also eligible for grants from the SEF. The Policka energy plan also investigated the option and the potential of combustion of biomass for central supply of heat. The town with 9300 inhabitants owns 2065 ha of forests. Most other forests in the area are owned by the state. Another source is a local producer of biomass from farming on 2500 ha. Using the estimation method developed by Jiroudkova and Brandt (1997), according to which 10 ha of healthy forest are needed to satisfy one household’s needs of fuel wood in a sustainable way, it can be argued that town’s forests alone can provide wood fuel for 200 households. The Policka energy plan singled out suitable units, currently using other sources of energy, for future rebuilding with heating units combusting biomass. However, it did not see this conversion as a feasible option at present, certainly not before the service life of the current equipment expires. In this particular case, owners of apartment houses did not seem to be as reliable participants in the process of implementation of energy planning as suggested by Karnik (2001). It is likely that such cases also occur in other municipalities. When gas is brought to a municipality, the investor requires that the majority of households be connected to the gas pipe. The most cost-effective option from the house owners’ perspective is to have their house connected at the same time with the rest of the municipality. However, many house owners do not invest in gas boilers and cookers and carry on using other, cheaper sources of energy. From the point of view of the local council, this is an uneconomic behaviour equal to the situations when owners of apartment houses disconnect from central supply described in the case of Policka. The case of Jindrichovice pod Smrkem (population 620) demonstrates the potential of territorial energy planning as a successful instrument of the conversion towards biomass energy which, however, requires adherence to specific commitments. What makes this municipality’s territorial energy plan different from the majority is a long-term commitment to energy self-sufficiency. This village is therefore not obliged to pay off long-term debts for gas pipes. Utilization of renewable energy from wood has already become a feasible option in this municipality. The local council in this peripheral village surrounded by forests employs 30 people who would be otherwise unemployed. The low salaries of these people are paid by the council and supplemented by the state labour office to the level of the minimum income. These employees collect waste wood in the forests that are owned by the
municipality. Wood is then used to heat the local village hall, a local school, and a hostel for the elderly (Pavek, 2003). The local council also helps individuals who use waste wood to heat their homes by lending them a tractor with a trailer (Pavek, pers. comm., 2002). There is some indication then that territorial planning can be instrumental in the development of the potential of biomass energy, but clearly the commitments of the local authority to renewable energy seems crucial for a successful utilization of energy from wood. Significant limits to the interest or ability of a municipality in including biomass as a local renewable energy resource may be the past large financial investments in other, non-renewable resources such as gas. An active involvement of the local authority in the management of the local wood fuel seems instrumental to its use as a sustainable source. 6.2. The role of SEF in the development of biomass-related projects In its annual reports, the SEF divides energy projects into two groups. The first group concerns large projects. The second group offers financial support for investment projects that exploit environmentally friendly ways of space and water heating for flats and family houses. Generation of heat from biomass is supported in this part of the programme. To be eligible for application, the buildings have to comply with the current legal insulation standards. Prior to an application to the SEF, the applicant has to produce a professionally prepared document that describes in detail how biomass is planned to be exploited (Vlk, pers. comm., 2002). The building that is a subject of the project has to be assessed by an energy auditor (Decree, 2001a). The auditor has to assess whether the loss of heat from the building is within the legal limits (Decree, 2001b). If it exceeds the limits, insulation of the house has to be improved before the application can be processed. The application can then be considered only on condition that the applicant proves that they contributed at least 50 per cent of the total investment cost. The conditions of the programmes with which applicants have to comply can be changed every year. The total sum for this programme in 2001 was approximately CZK 1 billion (h31 million) in comparison with the CZK 700 million (h22 million) in the previous year. Out of the 1 billion allocated for projects in 2001, about 400 million (h12.5 million) were used for the operatioal costs of the programme (Havlickova and Ruzickova, 2001). According to the SEF’s report on its activities in 2001, there were 4 communal projects for biomass boilers subsidized in 1999 (SEF, 2002b). In 2000, 11 projects (3 private and 8 municipal) were subsidized. A sharp growth in subsidized projects with biomass boilers took place in 2001 when 88 projects were subsidized. In the same year, 913 applications for all small projects were submitted and approved (or received funding) and the total subsidy
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Table 1 Projects realized by individuals in 2001 (SEF, 2002b) Year 2001 (all small projectsa)
January–June 2001, Small projects with biomass
Pollutant
Gas (t/yr)
Particulates SO2 NOX CO CXHY CO2 Total Total investment by SEF
115.8 17.4 299.3 65.9 10,023 105,522.1 116,448,000 CZK
a
Particles (t/yr)
Gas (t/yr)
68.3
Particles (t/yr) 2.874
68.3 2,280,000 CZK
5.542 0.129 14.89 3.084 530.1 553.745
Result of approximation of 321 cases then related to 913 applications.
for them amounted to CZK 116,448,000 (h3,639,000). Small projects are projects submitted by individual people applying for energy upgrading of their family houses. In the first half of 2001, for example, 34 applications were awarded for small projects for biomass boilers (SEF, 2002a). The sum of money subsidizing these projects was approximately CZK 2,280,000 (h71,250). As a comparison, in the same period, there were 96 applications awarded for solar collectors with CZK 10,709,000 allocated (h334,656) and 191 projects for heat pumps with CZK 21,724,000 allocated (h678,875). Applicants can apply for financial support either directly to the SEF or, since January 2002, at 14 regional SEF offices. As a result of the accomplishment of projects under Part B of the SAR Programme implemented by the Ministry of Environment’ SEF, the total reduction of annual emissions of gaseous pollutants in the air was expected to be 548 tonnes of SO2, 493 tonnes of NOX, 916 tonnes of CO, 191 tonnes of CXHY, 45 644 tonnes of CO2 and 363 tonnes of particulates (Novak, 2002). This was probably due largely to the replacement of coal and lignite fuels (Table 1). According to CEA’s method of assessment of the reduction of greenhouse gases in energy projects, a reference level of emissions, so called ‘basic development curve of a project’ is set. It means setting a basic development curve for each variable (consumption of fuels, losses in the source, losses in pipes, final consumption of energy, financial investments and relating emissions of greenhouse gases) when the original technology is used and then it is compared with the development curve when the new technical solution is implemented. This approach is used to compare individual projects and identifies environmental benefits of realized projects. In most cases, there is a standardized method for each group of projects. The IPCC method (CEA, 2003) is used for calculating CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Some financial support for non-investment and nonprofit projects is also available in Part B in the sphere of non-renewable energy resources, such as building public awareness and consultancy provided by the state administration and non-governmental organizations.
The number of projects supported by the SAR Programme in Part B is growing. However, its overall success is not assessed as unambiguously positive. According to the Minister of the Environment Libor Ambrozek (2003), the reality is different from what was anticipated by the government when the programme was approved. At the beginning of its existence, 1.5 per cent of consumption of primary energy sources at that time was regarded as the annual realistic increase of savings generated by renewables. It would require investments of about CZK 6–8 billion (h187,500,000–250,000,000) which would represent about CZK 2.5 billion (h78,125,000) allocated to the SAR Programme. However, the financial resources provided by the government have never reached 50 per cent of what was promised. In the year 2000, for example, the sum allocated to the SAR Programme was less than 25 per cent of the financial incentives anticipated by the government. 7. Discussion and conclusions As a consequence of the implementation of EU renewable energy policy, substantial changes have taken place during the pre-accession period of the Czech Republic’s harmonization with the EU in the area of the use of biomass as an energy resource. Since the late 1990s, the government’s policy addressing the issue of wood fuel has become more focused on promoting generation of heat from wood. There are financial incentives available to private individuals who want to switch from a nonrenewable energy resource to heat their houses with wood. These incentives have been very popular and get quickly used up each year. Since 2003, they have become more accessible since it is now possible to apply for them through the 14 regional contact points of the SEF (2005). These incentives have boosted the growth in the use of biomass as a sustainable energy resource and have been praised by the countries that have been most successful at the use of biomass such as Denmark (Country picture Denmark, 2001) and Austria (Wolgemuth, 1998) or other postcommunist Central European countries such as Slovakia, Slovenia or Poland (ForBiom, 2004). However, they do not
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necessarily guarantee that the renewable energy is generated in a sustainable way since the policies do not take into account all the stages in the supply of wood fuel. General figures published by the Czech Forest Management Institute (FMI, 2002) exist on the amount of exploitable wood in regions and districts. Although they are being developed, territorial plans of renewable energy resources on a large scale that would indicate how much of the fuel wood source is used and available locally have not been available so far. In the absence of clear ideas on the availability of the resource on the local basis, the provision of financial support and information could lead to shortterm over-exploitation of wood resources. The Czech government has also sought to create a free information network (CEA, 2005). The information provided by the information network is mostly on suitable technology, availability of technology and government’s subsidies. This is also the information most often sought by the general public interested in heating with wood. There is much less demand for information on procurement of wood or its local availability. However, despite the hitherto long-term stable situation in wood production in the Czech Republic, there is no certainty that there will be always a constant supply of wood of a required quality. Industries processing waste wood increasingly use more wood of poorer quality, reducing the amount that is on offer as a fuel (Simanov, 1993). This may significantly reduce availability of wood to individual users, lead to excessive demands on new growth wood at the expense of sustainability and create a situation where wood has to be transported for long distances with significant environmental effects. Territorial planning may represent a significant change in management of wood as a fuel. Wood is a scattered resource of energy and the people who use it to heat their houses are also scattered. This makes it essential that procurement of wood be tackled at the local level. It would be beneficial if local councils played a more significant role when energy plans become a part of territorial plans. Local councils, for example, could make efforts to bring together scattered partners such as suppliers of technology, sawmills and households in order to motivate and inform local people or potential consumers. In cases when local councils decide to support the use of biomass among the public, they need to guarantee consumers the access to information not only on the appropriate equipment but also on the procurement and handling of the fuel wood. The problems surrounding procurement of biomass as an energy resource have not been tackled by the government policies (Jehlickova, 2003). Similar barriers to successful development of the use of wood as a renewable energy resource identified in this paper have been also found in other countries in central Europe—in Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia (ForBiom, 2004). For instance, Poland reported a poorly developed market with wood fuels, including insufficient supply infrastructure while Slovakia lacks know-how and suffers
from low awareness and insufficient co-operation among stakeholders (ForBiom, 2004). Evidence was found that wood as a fuel has been mostly promoted by the Czech government policy through financial incentives and dissemination of information. However, if heating with wood is to be sustainable, the sequence of steps from procurement of fuel to combustion should be conceptualized by the authorities as an integrated process that considers environmental implications at each stage. The principles of energy management as a part of energy policy need to shift from the top down to the bottom up perspective comprising local authorities, energy agencies and individual consumers. References Alakangas, E., 1998. Versatile dissemination of bioenergy information in Finland. In: Proceedings of the 10th Conference and Exhibition ‘‘Biomass for Energy and Industry’’, Wurzburg, Germany, 8–11 June 1998. CARMEN (Centrales Agrar-Rohstof-Marketing und Entwicklungs-Netzwerk), Straubing, Germany, pp. 1207–1210. Ambrozek, L., 2003. Vyuziva CR alternativni zdroje dostatecne? Literarni noviny, 22 April 2003, p.16. Beranovsky, J., Jurica, J., Prchlik, L., Truxa, J., 1995. Ekonomicke hodnoceni obnovitelnych zdroju energie, Praha EkoWatt. Building Act, 1976. y 17 Building Act No. 50/1976 Coll, Prague. CEA, 2003. Metodika stanovenı´ celkovych redukcı´ emisı´ sklenı´ kovych plynu dosazenych behem doby zivotnosti realizovanych opatrenı´ , Praha (http://www.ceacr.cz). CEA, 2004. Introduction to CEA, Prague (http://www.ceacr.cz). CEA, 2005. Srediska a poradci EKIS pro rok 2004, Prague (http://www. ceacr.cz). Commission of the European Communities, 1997. Energy for the future: renewable sources of energy. White paper for a Community Strategy and Action Plan. Communication from the Commission COM (97) 599 final, Brussels. Coufal, J., 2002. Personal communication. Territorial Energy Plan of Policka, Policka. Country picture Denmark, 2001. Austrian Energy Agency (http://www. energyagency.at/(en)/opet/bioboiler/den_cp). CSO and MoA, 2001. (Czech Statistical Office and Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic), 2001. Ceske domacnosti ve svete scitani lidu, domu a bytu 2001, The Czech Statistical Office (http://www.czo.cz/ csu/csu.nsf/informace/TISLDB). Decree, 2001a. Decree of Ministry for Industry and Trade of CR on audits No. 213/2001 Coll., Prague. Decree, 2001b. Decree of the Ministry for Industry and Trade of CR, CSN 730540, No. 291/2001Coll., Prague. Energeticka politika, 2000. Act number 50 of the Czech Government, Prague (http://www.energetik.cz). Energy Management Act, 2000. Act No. 406/2000 Coll., of the Czech Government, Prague. FMI, 2001. Zprava o stavu lesa za rok 2001, Ustav hospodarske obnovy lesa. Brandys nad Labem (http://www.uhul.cz). FMI, 2002. Ustav pro hospodarskou obnovu lesa, Brandys nad Labem. (http://www.uhul.cz). ForBiom, 2004. Biomass technologies & experiences with biomass utilisation. Final Report, ForBiom Project Phase II, November 2004, Save Programme (http://www.svn.cz/html/forbiom/docs/Phase2_ Report_Forbiom.pdf). Hanousek, M., 2001. Topime drevem, Prague, Czech Republic, Grada Publishing, s.r.o. Havlickova, M., Ruzickova,, M., 2001. State Programme of support for energy saving and use of renewable energy sources. Energy Economic Bulletin for the Czech Republic, Prague, SEVEn.
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