Viability and Sustainability Assessment of Bioenergy Value Chains on Underutilised Lands in the EU and Ukraine

Abstract

Bioenergy represents the highest share of renewable energies consumed in the European Union and is still expected to grow. This could be possible by exploring bioenergy production on Marginal, Underutilised, and Contaminated lands (MUC) that are not used for agricultural purposes and therefore, present no competition with food/feed production. In this paper, the viability and sustainability of bioenergy value chains on these lands is investigated and measures for market uptake were developed. Using three case study areas in Italy, Ukraine, and Germany, a screening of MUC lands was conducted, then an agronomic assessment was performed to determine the most promising crops. Then, techno-economic assessments followed by sustainability assessments were performed on selected value chains. This concept was then automated and expanded through the development of a webGIS tool. The tool is an online platform that allows users to locate MUC lands in Europe, to define a value chain through the selection of bioenergy crops and pathways, and to conduct sustainability assessments measuring a set of environmental, social, and economic sustainability indicators. The findings showed positive results in terms of profitability and greenhouse gas emissions for bioethanol production from willow in Ukraine, heat and power production from miscanthus, and biogas and chemicals production from grass in Germany. The webGIS tool is considered an important decision-making tool for stakeholders, which gives first insights on the viability and sustainability of bioenergy value chains.

The Potential of Ukrainian Agriculture’s Biomass to Generate Renewable Energy in the Context of Climate and Political Challenges—The Case of the Kyiv Region

“…Energy generation from biomass in this regard seems to be not only sustainable, but also highly dependable [33][34][35]. Local generation of energy based on locally available sources allows them to sustain the needs of particular farms or even communities and ensures maintaining of their functions regardless of the exogenous shocks and national or regional grid malfunctions [36,37]. In this case, a tight connection between food and energy security strengthens the sustainability and resilience of the local food systems.…”

Proposal of Multicriteria Decision-Making Models for Biogas Production

“…These decisions include waste type [3], location [5,25], and output commercialization [24], depicted as diamonds. Significant indicators such as waste potential and plant operation and maintenance (represented by rectangles) can also signal project viability [19,30].…”

Social considerations for the cultivation of industrial crops on marginal agricultural land as feedstock for bioeconomy

“…[9][10][11][12] Life-cycle analysis (LCA) has often been used as an approach to understand how such value chains can be established and operated with respect to safe planetary boundaries. [13][14][15][16] Research has focused primarily on environmental and economic issues 17,18 whereas the social implications 19 have so far received considerably less attention. 20 This is because social life-cycle analysis (S-LCA) is perceived most of the times as biased by subjective views of stakeholders for specific value chains.…”

“…The concept of restoring marginal agricultural land (MAL) 1,2 and simultaneously producing feedstock for biobased sectors 3,4 has gained attention through the years 5 as an attractive, low‐input option 6,7 that can improve soil carbon 8 and provide renewable energy and raw materials 9–12 . Life‐cycle analysis (LCA) has often been used as an approach to understand how such value chains can be established and operated with respect to safe planetary boundaries 13–16 . Research has focused primarily on environmental and economic issues 17,18 whereas the social implications 19 have so far received considerably less attention 20 .…”