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The project is still in its infancy February 6, 2007

According to a study by the Institute for Rural Development and Cooperative Economy (INASO), sunflowers are a good crop for producing biodiesel. Last year, around 9,000 hectares were planted with sunflowers for other uses in the region of northern Evros.

The study takes into account the fact that many crops in Greece are declining as prices fall, and they could, if the farmers wish, be replaced or supplemented by biofuel crops.

An estimated 80 percent of tobacco, sugar beet and cotton could be replaced by energy crops, as could an estimated 20 percent of hard and soft wheat grown for food. Seventy-five percent of those crops are grown in 21 largely agricultural prefectures.

As Nikos Vassilakos, one of the researchers and Vice President of the European Federation of Energy Producers, said “The units were positioned in areas where the raw material is available so as to keep transportation costs down, and to encourage farmers to participate in the business side.”

The study provides for five units, each capable of producing 40,000 metric tons of biodiesel a year, in Rhodope-Evros, Kilkis-Thessaloniki, Larissa, Viotia-Fthiotida and Kozani-Karditsa areas. It will take 42,500 hectares of sunflower crops to make 40,000 tons of biodiesel.

The experts recommend putting three bioethanol units of 12,000-15,000 hectares in Larissa, Serres and Evros, and nine 15 MW electricity plants in Aitoloacarnania, Fthiotida, Ileia, Drama, Imathia, Pella, Kilkis, Kozani and Serres.

The study notes that growing energy crops will not work without subsidies and other support to guarantee farmers’ incomes and the sale of the energy by the processing unit at a price that makes it worthwhile for the factory. The present EU subsidy (of –4.50 per 0.1 hectare) is considered very low.

“The overall required annual subsidy for energy crops, in order to ensure farmers’ present incomes and make investments in biofuel processing pay off, is 197 million,” said Vassilakos. The present subsidy is 17 million a year, but the INASO research team believes there are solutions.

Their use of biofuel is estimated to save around 50 million from carbon emission conversions in line with the Kyoto protocol and from the money saved on fines and on acquiring emission rights. Also, the remaining 130 million a year could come from Fourth Community Support Framework funds.

To boost demand, the amount of tax-free biofuels produced from local raw materials could be increased. Vassilakos notes that kWh produced by biomass could be sold at a higher price to the electricity grid. “Currently electricity generated from biomass sells at 73/MWh, while that generated by photovoltaic is 50/MWh,” And, he added, “the solar cell systems are wholly imported.”

Matters will improve considerably if Greece decides to produce more than the EU-mandated 5.75 percent of energy from biomass. Besides, the latest proposal from the European Commission is for biofuels to represent 20 percent of all fuel used for transportation by 2020, while the European Parliament seems likely to recommend 15 percent.

As greater amounts are produced, economies of scale will benefit all concerned. But the project is still in its infancy. To produce biodiesel, the raw material must first be made into oil and then processed. At present there are four biodiesel factories in Greece, all using imported oils, and one factory that can handle the whole process from raw material to the finished product.

The deputy minister has announced the establishment of a new factory, with investment from the Agricultural Cooperatives of Kozani and Amyntaio and funding under the development law. As yet there is no bioethanol factory, which requires far more capital investment, and there are few energy crops.

Ministry data show that in 2006 some 9,000 hectares of land were planted with sunflowers for other uses in northern Evros and 1,000 to 1,500 hectares of rapeseed in Thessaloniki, Central and Eastern Macedonia and Thrace.
 
Energy crops are either cultivated or self-sown plants that produce biomass, which can then be used to generate energy, electricity and solid and liquid fuels.

The plants in use are: Plants containing oil, such as rapeseed, soy and sunflower, to produce oil and then biodiesel; plants containing sugar (sugar beet, sugar cane, sweet sorghum) for bioethanol; starch-containing plants (cereals, corn) for bioethanol; grain sorghum (reeds and agricultural waste) to produce electricity and solid state fuels.

Greece moves slowly toward biomass fuel February 6, 2007

Plans in works to grow 370,000 hectares of energy-producing plants

Using energy from plants for heating and electricity will help increase farmers’ incomes and lessen environmental pollution, but such a project’s success depends on the conditions in which investment is made.

The most promising areas for such crops and sites to process liquid fuels such as biodiesel and bioethanol are explored in “Action Plan for Biomass and Biofuel in Greece”, a study by the Institute for Rural Development and Cooperative Economy (INASO) for the Panhellenic Confederation of Unions of Agricultural Cooperatives (PASEGES).

European Union directives mandate that by 2010, at least 5.75 percent of the fuel used in Greece for transport be biofuel, and that 1.2 percent of the country’s electricity be produced from biomass. The figure of 5.7 percent refers to all types of biofuel, and each member state can decide whether to invest in biodiesel or bioethanol.

To produce the requisite amount of biomass, Greece must cultivate an estimated 370,000 hectares of energy-producing plants. The proposal is to plant 200,00 hectares with sunflower and rapeseed to produce biodiesel; 110,00 hectares with sweet sorghum, sugar beet, wheat and corn to produce bioethanol; and 50,000 hectares with grain sorghum to produce electricity.