GREENGAIN- Supporting Sustainable Energy Production from Biomass from Landscape Conservation and Maintenance Work
- Dates: January 2015 – December 2017
- Project website: http://greengain.eu/
- Leader: CIRCE
- Grant agreement number: 646443
- Financied by
DESCRIPTION
The aim of GreenGain is to strengthen the energy use of regional and local biomass from the maintenance of areas and landscape elements, which is performed in the public interest. The scope of the biomass used, will be any material predominantly produced from nature conservation and landscape management, but not from energy-crops.
The main target groups are regional and local players, who are responsible for maintenance and conservation work and for the biomass residue management in their regions. Moreover, the focus will be on service providers – including farmers and forest owners, their associations, NGOs and energy providers and consumers.
The project will show strategies to build up reliable knowledge on local availability of these feedstocks and know-how on issues from logistics to storage and sustainable conversion pathways for the transformation of these feedstocks to renewable energy (heat and energy products). Furthermore political, legal and environmental aspects will be addressed in model regions. Awareness raising, governance and public acceptance actions will be focussed on. General guidelines will be prepared to guarantee a wide dissemination to other regions in the EU. The regional partners will be actively supported by technical partners for the project measures’ development and implementation.
As a Coordination and Support Action (CSA), the project focal point will be the exchange between the model regions and other similar relevant players in the EU, by good practice exchange, a topic-specific website, several workshops and educational site visits in different regions as well as other standard public relations activities.
Regions in northern Europe with a wide knowledge in this field are cooperating with European (south-west, middle, east) regions, having an untapped potential that can be accessed through efficient knowledge transfer.
OBJECTIVES
CIRCE'S ROLE
CIRCE boasts a broad experience in studying the planet’s natural resources, such as biomass, water and minerals, and analyses a wide scope of aspects, from the possibility of using these resources as an energy source, to the environmental impacts their exploitation can bring about. CIRCE carries out analyses on the technical/ economic feasibility of energy production using solid biomass, including forest and agricultural resources, as well as energy crops, and performs research on solid biomass valuation technology to make it more efficient, reliable and clean, whilst satisfying the needs of the industry.
CIRCE will support the implementation of the different WPs tasks applying for the Spanish region pilot area. In order to carry out the work planned specially in WP4, WP5 and WP6 a close collaboration would be required with the region ‘Comarca Bajo Aragon y Matarraña’ to assist them during the entire project.
Additionally CIRCE will lead WP5 concerning the Biomass Exploitation Strategies based on his extensive experience on the field, his work will mainly involve coordinating the implementation of pilot experiences in the regions which will settle the base for the creation of a sustainable market for LCMW biomass in Europe.
PARTNERS
