Exciting results achieved
Despite challenges and the difficult economic situation in Europe PromoBio witnessed some exciting development in the target regions. All target regions made concrete bioenergy action plans and started implementing them already during the project. In total, 17 feasibility studies on establishing a forest biomass based bioenergy supply chain were conducted and 5 contracts and 7 pre-contracts/LOIs were signed between different business partners, agreeing to establish biomass heating installations. 21 pilot companies were involved in these actual projects. Almost 400 local stakeholders participated in country specific workshops to lean and to commit themselves to promote regional bioenergy initiatives. Another 75 were trained in Austria and Finland to be able work as regional bioenergy advisors. Training courses based on PromoBio´s training materials were accepted into normal curricula of training organisations in the target countries. For example, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra and Technical University in Zvolen are going to include the main outcomes of the project into their curricula.
During the project 32 MW of new biomass heating capacity, worth 6 million euros, were agreed to be established in the target regions. Some of these heating plants were actually built before the end of the project. Already 20 new jobs were created, and this number is anticipated to multiply when all agreed investments have taken place and new supply chains put in place. More than 70,000 tonnes of woody biomass, mainly forest chips and sawdust will be used annually in these new plants. This will reduce CO₂ emissions by 80,000 annually compared to old fossil fuel fired heating plants.

Further information: www.promobio.eu
(Christa Kristöfel)

2014-06-10