Abstract
Biofuels policy instruments are important in the development and diffusion of biogas as a transport fuel in Sweden. Their effectiveness with links to geodemographic conditions has not been analysed systematically in studying biogas development in a less urbanised regions, with high potential and primitive gas infrastructure. One such region identified is Gävleborg in Sweden. By using value chain statistics, interviews with related actors, and studying biofuels policy instruments and implications for biogas development, it is found that the policy measures have not been as effective in the region as in the rest of Sweden due to different geodemographic characteristics of the region, which has resulted in impeded biogas development. In addition to factors found in previous studies, the less-developed biogas value chain in this region can be attributed particularly to undefined rules of the game, which is lack of consensus on trade-off of resources and services, unnecessary competition among several fuel alternatives, as well as the ambiguity of municipalities’ prioritization, and regional cultural differences. To strengthen the regional biogas sector, system actors need a strategy to eliminate blocking effects of identified local factors, and national policy instruments should provide mechanisms to process geographical conditions in regulatory, economic support, and market formation.
Highlights
The transport sector is one of the major sources contributing to greenhouse gases (GHG) emission and requires an urgent transition from fossil to renewable fuels to mitigate climate change
This is not limited to biogas production used in the transport sector, but rather total raw biogas produced in Gävleborg and the rest of Sweden
Sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants has been the main feedstock for biogas production in both the Gävleborg region and Sweden
Summary
The transport sector is one of the major sources contributing to greenhouse gases (GHG) emission and requires an urgent transition from fossil to renewable fuels to mitigate climate change. In Sweden, the use of biogas and HVO produced from waste and residues is double counted, resulting in a higher value compared to the share of renewables measured by energy content. Counting as specified in the directive ) the Swedish government has set ambitious targets for the transport sector such as a fossil-independent vehicle fleet by 2030 and zero net GHG emissions by 2045 [2]. To achieve these targets, one measure among others is to increase the use of different renewable fuels in the transport sector. Biogas is a promising renewable transport fuel with production reached 2.1 TWh by 2017 and offers significant environmental, economic, and social benefits [3,4]
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