Planning for Increased Bioenergy use – Strategies for Minimising Environmental Impacts and Analysing the Consequences

Jonsson, A. 2006. Planning for Increased Bioenergy use – Strategies for Minimising Environmental Impacts and Analysing the Consequences. Licentiate thesis. ISSN 1651-0720 There are several goals aimed at increasing the use of renewable energy in the Swedish energy system. Bioenergy is one important renewable energy source and there is a potential to increase its use in the future. This thesis aimed to develop and analyse strategies and tools that could be used when planning for conversion to bioenergy-based heating systems and the building of new residential areas with bioenergy-based heating. The goal was to enable the increase of bioenergy and simultaneously minimise the negative health effects caused by emissions associated with the combustion of bioenergy. The thesis consists of two papers. Paper I concerned existing residential areas and conversion from electric heating and individual heating systems, such as firewood and oil boilers, to more modern and low-emitting pellet techniques and small-scale district heating. Paper II concerned new residential areas and how to integrate bioenergy-based heating systems that cause impacts on local air quality into the physical planning process through using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and a meteorological dispersion model, ALARM. The results from Paper I indicated that it was possible to convert areas currently using electric heating to pellet techniques and small-scale district heating without degrading local air quality. Furthermore, it was possible to decrease high emissions caused by firewood boilers by replacing them with pellet boilers. The results from Paper II highlighted that GIS and ALARM were advantageous for analysing local air quality characteristics when planning for new residential areas and before a residential area is built: thus, avoiding negative impacts caused by bioenergy-based combustion. In conclusion, the work procedures developed in this thesis can be used to counteract negative impacts on local air quality with increasing use of bioenergy in the heating system. Analysis of potentially negative aspects before conversion to bioenergy-based heating systems, or before bioenergy-based heating systems are installed in new residential areas, make it possible to avoid these heating systems in areas with sensitive air quality characteristics, and to increase bioenergy use without causing negative impacts on local air quality and potential health risks to the inhabitants in such areas.