Title : Bioenergy cooperatives as a sustainable solution of households heating in rural areas using local biomass resources
Abstract:
The energy crisis across the Europe, as well as the continuously growing trend to reduce the usage of fossil fuels caused that more and more attention is paid to produce energy from local renewable resources, especially in rural areas. Moreover, the EU Directives promote the increase of the engagement of local society in energy production, through the creation of energy cooperatives, that should lead to self-sufficiency of the region and reduction of energy poverty amongst the residents in these areas. In terms of the households heating in rural areas, the use of biomass is proposed as a relatively cheap fuel that can be harvested in sustainable way from local resources. The heating systems in rural area, due to the residents scattering, are complex and should be realized with care taking into account the specific local possibilities, the investments costs, energy policy of the given country as well as social acceptance/attitude. Therefore, different solutions may be applied to provide the heat form biomass to the final users. The European BECoop project (financed by the EU) aimed to unlock the bio-energy cooperatives creation/development potential across Europe. As a result, the selected cases of the bioenergy cooperatives applying direct and district heating, as well as the logistic operations and the biofuels production have been analysed. The four strategies (taken place in Italy, Spain, Greece and Poland) have been presented and described pointing the crucial bottlenecks responsible for a final success of the local biomass utilisation for energy purposes. It was found that the main factor influencing the practical implementation and creation of an energy cooperative is the readiness of the local community for active bottom-up involvement in the process of its creation and the support and involvement of local authorities, whose participation is a kind of guarantee of the implementation of the project and building social trust between the stakeholders of the cooperative.
Audience Takeaway:
- The sustainable use of local biomass for energy purposes limits the demand for fossil fuels.
- Short biomass logistics chain is characterized by lower environmental footprint, economic benefits, and local development.
- Energy cooperatives lead to the reduction of energy poverty in rural areas and increase of social integration.
- The engagement of local society is crucial for effective energy cooperative development.
- Energy cooperatives increase the local energy security and self-sufficiency of the region.
