Focus On - July 2011
BAPE contributing to a transparent and effective pellet market in Poland
Poland currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Baltic Energy Conservation Agency (BAPE), based in Gdansk, has taken a special interest in the establishment of a stable and sustainable renewable energy market in Poland. One of the projects BAPE has been actively involved in is PELLETS@LAS.
The project, which has received the financial support of Intelligent Energy Europe, aims to contribute to the development and promotion of a transparent European pellets market through the creation of a European conceptual pellets atlas.
Biomass in Poland: challenges and opportunities
Poland has 8.9 million hectares of forest, which currently accounts for 29% of the total land area - this figure is expected to increase to 32% by 2020. It is, therefore, clear why biomass is the most widely used renewable energy source. On the other hand, coal has been traditionally the most commonly used conventional fuel in the country.
Starting in 2003, pellet production is a relatively new activity in Poland. The produced bio-material was primarily exported, but over time internal use has gradually increased, making the pellet sector a rapidly growing industry.
National consumption, production and production capacity of pellets in Poland
However, this dynamic sector faces several challenges in Poland, as in several other European countries. Uncertainty concerning the security of supply, inconsistency of fuel quality and insufficient pellet supply chains are the main barriers to stable market development, hindering investments and affecting consumers' confidence.
PELLETS@LAS: making biomass information available to everyone
The general aim of the IEE PELLETS@LAS project is to promote the development of a transparent and stable European pellet market. The main action has been the collection and processing of pellet market data, such as prices and production volumes. BAPE, which was one of the twelve project partners, was responsible for monitoring not only the Polish pellet market but also that of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The evolution of pellet prices in Poland (Euros/tonnes)
For data collection, specific questionnaires were prepared and sent to producers, traders and large consumers of wood pellets and mixed biomass pellets (MBP). Based on the collected information, BAPE prepared a market report on MBP.
In order to provide easy access to the produced results, all information is disseminated via a project website with public databases including all collected data as well as a comprehensive contact list of involved market actors.
Wood pellet plant locations in Poland
According to BAPE’s vice president, Ms Katarzyna Grecka, PELLETS@LAS made a significant contribution to improving the Polish pellet market: ‘The project raised awareness of the potential of renewable energy for Poland and helped to make the pellet market more transparent, by making data available for the first time. Furthermore, some of the largest pellet producers in the country started setting up distribution networks, which means new and green jobs!’
Raising awareness of professionals and the wider public
In order to provide background information to raw data, analytical reports were produced, including country reports, analysis of international pellet trade developments and updates on recent relevant developments such as the ongoing European standardisation of solid biomass. All 27 country reports are available on the project’s website.
The wider public and professionals were provided with general information on pellet utilisation through a handbook as well as through awareness workshops.
Capacity building workshop on the Polish pellets market organised by BAPE
The issues addressed by the project highlighted the need for further actions in the area of biomass. SolidStandards, the successor of the PELLETS@LAS Project, was recently launched, in collaboration with some of the partners from the previous project. It has also received the financial support of Intelligent Energy Europe, and focuses on the implementation of a quality assurance system and standards for solid biomass fuels (www.solidstandards.eu).
