During the months of April, May and June, a number of regional workshops were held within the framework of the Promobiomasse project, in which local experts gave their input to the model for the management of the biomass market in a short circuit, prepared in the project. The meetings also served to assess the pilot schemes set in motion by the Promobiomasse partners: the Centre de Ciència i Tecnologia Forestal de Catalunya (CTFC), the public entity of the Navarra Government – Navarra de Suelo y Vivienda, SA (NASUVINSA), the Agencia Extremeña de la Energía (AGENEX), the Agência Regional de Energia e Ambiente do Interior (ENERAREA) of Región Norte Portugal, the Communauté de Communes du Plateau de Lannemezan (CCPL), of the French department Hautes-Pyrénées, and the Association des Communes Forestières des Pyrénées Atlantiques (COFOR64) of the Pyrénées Atlantiques.
Promobiomasse is a transnational cooperation project that aims to promote the forest biomass energy market in the SUDOE territory (southwestern Europe), with the resulting advantages: reduced fire risk, creation of employment in rural areas, progress in the energy transition and sustainable development opportunities. As well as the above-mentioned project partners, 19 associated enterprises are also involved. The total budget for the project amounts to EUR 1.4 million, of which the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is providing 1 million.
Matters under discussion
All the workshops were held on-line, except for the one in Navarra. The first meeting was arranged for the 27th April by COFOR 64, at which details were given on the biomass boiler club scheme in the area of the Atlantic Pyrenees. The six experts taking part pointed out that it would be a good idea to replicate this type of club in other areas and underscored the usefulness of collecting operating data and boiler costs for the purpose of analysing its economic viability.
On 13th May, AGENEX held a meeting with 72 experts, who were given details of the pilot schemes conducted in Extremadura – the local agent training courses and the study to remove administrative, legal and structural barriers to forest property in La Siberia, Hurdes and Sierra de Gata -, as well as the Localcir project and the POCTEP Methodology for the design of Green itineraries, developed within the Promobiomasse framework. The subsequent round table addressed the possible extension of the biomass management model to other districts of Extremadura.
On the 18th May, it was the turn of ENERAREA, at a workshop attended by 25 experts, including stakeholders and municipal representatives, who were able to get first-hand information on the biomass management model prepared within the project framework, as well as the study for the creation of a network of residual biomass collection and processing centres within the ENERAREA area of action. Their input highlighted the need to add a national approach to the biomass management model in order to adapt it to a centralised administrative structure such as the one in Portugal.
The workshop organised by Nasuvinsa was held on 3rd June in Aoiz, at the facilities of the future biomass storage and processing plant, a pilot project for the Navarra-based partner. The ten experts attending the meeting addressed the possibility of setting in motion the public-private entity to manage the plant, the legal difficulties due to the fact that it is an innovative management formula in Navarra and its short and medium term prospects.
For its part, the CCPL decided to divide the workshop into two meetings. On 5th May, it took advantage of the general meeting of Fibois Occitanie to present its pilot scheme to some twenty experts and representatives of the local and regional administrations, consisting in the digital tool Eforet for the characterisation of the forest areas. On the 8th June it held a further meeting with a smaller group of experts to assess the Promobiomasse biomass management model.
The final workshop, organised by CTFC, was held on the 11th June and was attended by 11 experts, who were given details of the two pilot schemes implemented in Catalunya: one on innovative log extraction technologies and the other on the promotion of joint forest management for the prevention of fires. Their input focussed on the need to improve the efficiency of forest harvesting, reducing the environmental impact of machines on the ground and and on the advisability of always counting on trained and skilled technical staff.
Now that the regional workshops have ended, Promobiomasse will organise a technical workshop using streaming technology, to be held on 1st July. This is directed at actors in the different stages of the biomass cycle in the project’s territories. The workshop will serve to explain the project implemented and to give short talks to address those aspects dealt with in the pilot schemes.
