Description
Energy produced from biomass, i.e. all organic plant and animal products used for energy purposes, is one of the main renewable energy sources currently consumed in the EU and will become even more important in view of the 2020 targets. In the Province of Trento, biomass also represents a significant share of consumption, after hydroelectric power the most widely used renewable source. Wood from the forest, understood in its most varied by-products (residues from logging operations, primary processing waste, firewood) is undoubtedly the main element.
Biomasses are energy sources, produced and used on a local scale, which represent a resource with multiple positive aspects: on the one hand, they constitute an indispensable element to cope with the growing dependence on energy imports; on the other hand, being renewable energy sources, they allow a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions; last but not least, they represent, at the level of small territories, a great potential for socio-economic development. Within the biomass sector, an absolutely decisive role is reserved in particular for the woody biomass sector; these have the greatest potential both in terms of better utilisation of already exploited quantities (replacement of existing, inefficient plants with highly efficient ones), and in terms of exploitation of currently unused resources (residual agricultural biomasses, waste from forestry sites).
The computerised woodchip consumption register
Among woody biomasses, of particular importance is the biomass "wood chips", obtained by simply mechanically chipping virgin wood from waste material from other agricultural, forestry or sawmill production. In Trentino, wood chips are one of the raw materials used to feed district heating plants and thermal and electrical energy production plants for residential, tertiary and tourist facilities.
In recent years, the local availability of wood chips has allowed the construction of numerous district heating plants, mostly located in areas without methane networks. Considering the constant interest in the sustainable management of existing plants and construction of new ones, Aprie and the Autonomous Province of Trento decided to structure the annual monitoring of the quantities of agricultural, forestry and primary wood chips used in the province.
Aprie sent to all operators of district heating plants in Trentino the request to sign the specific data transmission protocol that allowed the creation of the Register of woodchip consumption, in digital form. This first phase was followed by the involvement of medium-sized woodchip-fuelled power plants. Once the computerised database has been structured within the Energy Observatory, it will be possible to monitor the data of the Woodchip Consumption Register annually, and in particular those on forest or sawmill availability.
The support of plant owners and operators is - according to Aprie - strategic for improving knowledge of the resources still available in the province.
The data collection and analysis established by a provincial resolution is also provided for by the ministerial decree (15 March 2012, sheet A5, Section C), according to which the data collected by the regional authority must be forwarded to the energy services manager. "Thanks to the computerised register," concludes Aprie, "calculations and checks on woodchip consumption will be used to verify the achievement of Trentino's objectives with respect to Burden Sharing, i.e. energy efficiency but also, and above all, production from renewables and reduction of climate-changing emissions.
Restrictions
Penalties are imposed on users who do not complete the form in time.
