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| 1 |
ID:
175018
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| Summary/Abstract |
This paper develops a more detailed understanding of when incumbent actors may become the main locomotive driving energy transitions. It also illustrates the trade-offs between policy approaches that actively seek to involve the incumbents in transitions, and policy approaches that pursue transitions without their active involvement. The paper examines state support for the bioeconomy in Sweden and concludes that public investments have been geared towards large-scale, complex and integrated biorefineries that are dependent on the active participation of the forest industry. Incumbents in the forest industry have, however, both lacked motivation and the abilities required to take the necessary steps for commercialisation of the demonstrated concepts. Instead, a rather small investment in a joint venture between actors from the forestry and oil refinery industry in Sweden has spurred learning and revenues; and it has placed an oil refinery at the centre of the future development of what we here term distributed biorefining. The main trade-off is that while this shift has opened up for cross-industrial collaborations and the production of advanced biofuels and materials, it has also paved the way for further investments in existing fossil-fuel infrastructure.
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| 2 |
ID:
092850
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| Publication |
2009.
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| Summary/Abstract |
The Lake States region of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan offers significant potential for bioenergy production. We examine the sustainability of regional forest biomass use in the context of existing thermal heating, electricity, and biofuels production, projected resource needs over the next decade including existing forest product market demand, and impacts on price and feasibility. Assuming $36 per dry tonne at roadside, 4.1 million dry tonnes of forest biomass could be available region-wide. However, less is likely available due to localized environmental and forest cover type constraints, and landowner willingness to harvest timber. Total projected demand of 5.7 million dry tonnes, based on current and announced industry capacity, exceeds estimates of biomass availability, which suggests that anticipated growth in the forest-based bioeconomy may be constrained. Attaining projected demand will likely require a combination of higher cost feedstocks, integration of energy and non-energy uses, and careful management to meet environmental constraints. State distinctions in biomass harvest guidelines and the propensity for third-party forest certification will be critical in providing environmental safeguards. The cumulative effect of policy initiatives on biomass competition are discussed in the context of an emerging Lake States bioeconomy.
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