Integration of environmental criteria Annika Henriksson My y - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Integration of environmental criteria Annika Henriksson

Impact of Energy Crops , Logist EC, Brussels, 2 Dec 2014

• MSc Agric, SLU, Uppsala
• Partner in HSAB, family-owned business headquartered in

Sweden, one of the Swedish pioneers

• Partner also in
• Salixenergi Europa AB, Sweden
• SIA Latsalix, Latvia
• In 1991 HSAB introduced the first operational Salix harvester
• In 1994 HSAB introduced the billet planting method
• HSAB constructs head for direct chipping with forage harvester,

export to England, Denmark, Germany, Poland , Latvia, Ukraine

• Project leader of the largest salix planting project in Europe sofar,

>1000 ha planted for one company

• Also: crop advisor, environmental consultant

My y background: agricult lture, , sali lix, , harvestin ing, g, bio iomass sale les, , machinery ry

2

20 partners from 7 countries Duration: 36 Months (1.12.2012 – 30.11.2015)

Participate in EU-project ROKWOOD together with:

1 ha Salix:

• Direct use for heat production only: 45 MWh/ha/yr
• CHP + condensation: 80 MWh/ha/yr

Best energy efficiency of all agricultural energy crops

1 ha

Energy sources for dis istrict heatin ing in in Sweden 1970 -2011

Salix is an agricultural crop…

….which can be grown on marginal agricultural land

Even on marginal land it can produce a good yield compared with annual crops = a large potential for efficient production for biomass for heat, electricity, biofuel

In In Sweden: used for heat/CHP, , 2-300 MW

Not for biofuel yet

Biofuels – sustainability schemes

• Biofuels have to comply with sustainability criteria:
• prevent the conversion of areas of high biodiversity and high carbon stock for

the production of raw materials for biofuels.

• The entire biofuels' production and supply chain has to be sustainable.
• The sustainability of biofuels needs to be checked by Member States or through

voluntary schemes which have been approved by the European Commission.

• To date: 19 recognized schemes:
• out of which 9 are for a wide range of feed stocks
• the rest for specific crops, (maize, cane, oil seed rape, soy, wheat etc)
• To date: salix is not used for biofuels – no scheme is applied - to my knowledge
• We do not use it yet but I checked one scheme:
• International sustainability and carbon certification- ISCC

Five principles:

• 1. Biomass shall not be produced on land with high biodiversity value or high

carbon stock. HCV areas shall be protected.

• 2. Biomass shall be produced in an environmentally

responsible way. This includes the protection of soil, water and air and the application of Good Agricultural Practices

• 3. Safe working conditions = normal agriculture
• 4. Not violate human rights = normal agriculture
• 5. Compliance with legislation = normal agriculture

ISCC 202 Sustainability Requirements for the Production of Biomass

PRIN INCIPLE 1: : Bio Biomass sh shall ll not t be produced on lan land with ith hig igh bio iodiv iversit ity valu lue or r hig igh carb rbon stock. HCV CV areas sh shall ll be protected.

• Biomass is not produced on:
• land with high biodiversity value
• Natural forest land,
• land designated for nature protection,
• areas for protection of endangered species
• This is not limiting

PRIN INCIPLE 1 cont ….

• highly biodiverse grassland
• Natural grassland –OK, not suitable for SRC anyway
• Highly biodiverse grassland, as stated in the RED, has not yet been fully

defined by the EC.

• Until definitions, criteria and geographic areas featuring grassland with high

biodiversity are determined by the Commission, any conversion of grassland in or after January 2008 is prohibited within the ISCC system.

• This can be a problem, at least until definitions are ready!

Environmental changes when perennial energy crops (salix/ reed canary grass) replace annual food crops,…… 1

Changed environmental impact Average quantitative impact Max proportion

• f total arable

land (%) Accumulation of soil C in mineral soils 0,5 tonne C/ha/yr 55 Reduced CO2 emission from organic soils 7 tonne C/ha/yr 5,0 Reduced N2O emissions from mineral soils 0,04 C-equiv/ha/yr 55 Reduced N-leaching in general 10 kg N/ha/yr 60 Reduced N-leaching through buffer strips 70 kg N/ha/yr 2,6 Reduced P-leaching through buffer strips 1,5 kg P/ha/yr 3,7 Cadmium removal 6 g Cd/ha/yr 92

Source: P. Börjesson, Lund University, 1999 Replacing arable with SRC is only positive, but indirect land use change was not studied in 1999!

10.000.000 20.000.000 30.000.000 40.000.000 50.000.000 unutilised land, 100% unutilised land, 10% fallow land, 100 % fallow land, 50% permanent grassland, 100% permanent grassland, 10% ha

Land available for SRC in EU, technically and economically (only countries with suitable climate)

Total SRC area in EU < 30 000 ha

1.000.000 2.000.000 3.000.000 4.000.000 5.000.000 6.000.000 7.000.000 8.000.000 9.000.000

1

ha SRC on 10 % of unutilised land, 50% of fallow land and 10% of permanent grassland

(only countries with suitable climate)

10 % of permanent grassland 50% of fallow land 10% of unutilised land = feedstock for 359 CHP plants such as this one; Örtofta, Sweden,

• 816 MWh/yr
• 92% efficiency
• 70% heat,
• 30% electricity
• condensation

Total SRC area in EU < 30 000 ha

5.000.000 10.000.000 15.000.000 20.000.000 25.000.000 30.000.000

1

SRC on 10% of unutilised land, 50% of fallow land, 10% of permanent grassland and 10% of arable land in EU (only areas with suitable climate)

unutilised land, 10% fallow land 50% permanent grassland10% reductio of arable

ha Total SRC area in EU < 30 000 ha = feedstock for 1167 CHP plants such as this one; Örtofta, Sweden,

• 816 MWh/yr
• 92% efficiency
• 70% heat,
• 30% electricity
• condensation

PRIN INCIPLE 1 cont ….

• Land with high carbon stock
• Wetlands –
• not a problem since:
• SRC does not grow on wetlands!
• cannot use machinery on wetlands!
• Forested areas-
• Not a problem: uneconomic
• Land that was peat land in Jan 2008 or thereafter
• not a problem: SRC does not grow on peat land!

Changed environmental impact Av quantitative impact Max proportion

• f total arable

land (%) Increased soil fertility 5% higher yield 47 Reduced wind erosion 10% higher yield 0,5 Reduced water erosion Reduced land degradation 1 Waste water treatment 100 kg N/ha/yr 0,4-2,5 Landfill leachate treatment 100 kg N/ha/yr 0,04 Recirculation of sewage sludge 1 tonne dry matter/ha/yr 4,8 Biodiversity Unchanged/increased in

• pen farm land

60

Source: P. Börjesson, Lund University, 1999

Environmental changes when perennial energy crops (salix/reed canary grass) replace annual food crops,…… 1

PRIN INCIPLE 2: : Bio Biomass sh shall ll be produced in in an envi vironmentall lly resp sponsib ible le way. . Th This is inc inclu ludes th the protectio ion of f so soil il, water and air ir and th the appli licatio ion of f Good Agric ricult ltural l Practic ices

• 1. Environmental impact assessment - OK
• 2. Natural water courses - OK
• 3. Soil conservation and avoidance of soil erosion - OK
• 4. Soil organic matter and soil structure -OK
• 5. Ground water and irrigation -OK
• 6. Use of fertilizer
• 7. Integrated pest management
• 8. Use of plant protection products

Natural vegetation along water courses shall be maintained/restored

• Not a problem:
• Minimum 10 m buffer zones are needed along water course to enable use of

machinery

• Riparian areas are not suitable for SRC, too wet

Ground water and irrigation

• Salix does not grow on dry areas, needs good water supply, not

suitable where ground water formation is limited

• Irrigation usually not applied, uneconomic but:
• Possible to use the salix plantation as biological filter, for waste water

Soil conservation and avoidance of soil erosion:

Compared with grain:

• pH +
• nutrient balance +
• organic matter +
• soil structure +
• soil biodiversity +

The soil is quickly covered after planting, remains undisturbed for 20 years

Source: NE Nordh, SLU, 2010

Very little risk for soil erosion: after harvest

The soil is never bare after the year

• f establishment

Soil fertility: the field can be restored to arable land in one year

Stubble removal by mulcher, Aug Sowing of winter wheat, Sep Disc ploughing, Aug Winter wheat emerging, Oct

Source :NE Nordh, SLU, 2010

Swedish trials show that wheat after salix has higher yield

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

Yield of 10 Lantmännen varieties in three trials at SLU, Alnarp, Sweden, planted in 2010, first harvest 2013

Trial site J, Alnarp, Sweden, 2010-2013 Trial site P, Alnarp, Sweden, 2010-2013 Trial site S, Alnarp, Sweden, 2010-2013

Odt/ha/ year

Source: J. Albertsson, SLU, processed by A. Henriksson

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Use of fertilizer on new, improved varieties

5 trials in central Sweden 2008-2010, varieties Jorr (2) and Tora (3)

0,0 2,0 4,0 6,0 8,0 10,0 12,0 14,0 no fertilizer economy, 160 N normal, 60+100+60 N intensiv, 160+160+160 N

• dt/ha/yr

Source: H Rosenqvist, P Aronsson, SLU, 2011

Sewage sludge is a good fertilizer for salix

• 4 odt/ha after planting and after every harvest
• Only certified sludge is used, same quality as for food crops
• This covers the P-need but not the N-need
• Many salix fields are fertilized only with sludge

The effect of weeds in salix

trial in Sweden planted April 2010, photo September 2010

weeded not weeded weeded not weeded not weeded

Growth reduction 2 years after planting: 56-98% !!!

Source: J. Albertsson, SLU

Use of herbicides ……. Weed control can be done mechanic ally, but requires more energy!

Pests, diseases,

• ther

damages

Integrated pest management, use of plant protection products:

Source :NE Nordh, SLU, 2010

Breeding

• f frost

tolerant varieties Deer, moose, hare, rabbits Leaf rust Resistance breeding insects Resistance breeding

Co- existence!

NO SPRAYING NEEDED

Pests, diseases

Activities sum average/ha/yr Soil cultivation 2 860 130 Planting 660 30 Cutting production (incl cold storage) 7 260 330 Spraying 440 20 Prod of plant protection products 660 30 Spreading of fertilizer 9 900 450 prod N-fertilizer (70 kg N/ha/yr) 63 000 2 864 prod P-fertilizer (7 kg P/ha/yr) 3 850 175 prod K-fertilizer (25 kg K/ha/yr) 2 555 116 Harvest (direct chipping) 37 401 1 700 Road transport of biomass (30 km) 15 620 710 Field transport at harvest 11 660 530 Breaking up of salix stumps yr 22 3 080 140

Total energy input 158 946 7 225 total energy harvest , 9 dt/ha/yr 3 366 000 153 000 Net energy harvest 3 207 054 145 775 Energy balance 21

Energy balance in salix production

Unit: MJ/ha

Road transport, km Energy balance 10 23 50 20 70 19 Sensitivity analysis transport

HSAB billet harvester – less energy to harvest

Bil illets

• Requires appr 10-20% less energy

to produce than chips

• Dries without input of energy

from 50 – 30 % moisture content

Short billets 10-15 cm

30 cm

Long billets 20-30 cm

Bille Billets - les less energy to produce

Billet planting

Conclusions

• The present SRC production is very far from having a significant effect on environment
• (and unfortunately also on energy supply)
• The present area of SRC is totally insignificant compared to:
• the area of unutilised land, fallow, extensively used grassland and to the area made available

through the continued reduction of arable production in EU

• SRC is an agricultural crop and must be grown on agricultural land. Wetland, peat land, land with

high carbon stock is not suitable for SRC

• Living up to good agricultural practise is unproblematic in SRC production. Fertilisation and weed

control is absolutely necessary but much less intensive than in arable crops

• Replacing arable with SRC is beneficial to the environment in all aspects except indirect land use

change

• SRC has the highest energy efficiency of all energy crops, easily > 20
• Not forget: improve the efficiency in todays energy conversion in EU: combined heat and power,

district heating, exhaust gas condensation

70% of the energy content of the biomass fed into conventional power plants is wasted

Annika Henriksson Thank you for your attention!