Learning from Austria - Biomass Thermal Energy Council

Learning from Austria:

How Government and the Private Sector
Worked Together to Grow a Thriving Biomass

Thermal Industry

Christiane Egger Herbert Ortner

O.Ö. Energiesparverband ÖkoFEN

[email protected], [email protected],
www.esv.or.at www.pelletsheizung.at

The State of Upper Austria
Oberösterreich

Capital: Linz
Population: 1.38 million (similar to NH)
Area: 4.600 mi² (similar to CT)
Economic activities: industry, service sector, tourism,
25% of the Austrian
industrial exports

O.O. Energiesparverband is the state agency for renewable
energy & energy efficiency & provides services to private
households, SMEs, public bodies

Renewable energy sources in Upper Austria

• Share of renewable energy: 34 % of total primary energy demand

(15 % hydro, 15 % clean biomass,
4 % solar & other renewables)

• Share of renewable heating: 46 % of total heating demand

• Avoided imports of fossil fuels: >1.3 billion US$ per year

By 2030, all electricity and space heating will come from renewables!

 reduction of heat demand by 39 %
 reduction of electricity demand by 0.5 %/year
 minus 65 % CO2 emissions

The Oekoenergie-Cluster Upper Austria (OEC)

• network of renewable energy & energy efficiency companies
in Upper Austria

• 160 partner companies
• since 2000, managed by O.Ö. Energiesparverband
• www.oec-en.at
• main business fields:

- biomass heating
- solar heating
- energy efficient buildings

• Turnover: 2.3 billion US$
• Employees: 6,260
• Export share: > 50 %

Solar thermal, Biomass heating, Efficient Buildings

Biomass boiler producers –
company headquarters in Upper Austria & OEC partners

Visit our booth in the vendor fair (booth 28) and at www.oec-en.at

Biomass heating in Upper Austria
clean, efficient, fully automated

• 15 % of total energy consumption
• > 40,000 biomass heating installations
• 300 biomass district heating plants
• > 40 % of the municipalities mainly use

biomass for heating

Biomass heating technologies

technology automatic pellet modern automatic wood district heating combined
fuel heat & power
heating firewood boilers chip boilers stations

pellets firewood wood chips wood chips whole trees

typical installed 5-15 kW 20-40 kW 50-150 kW 100 kW-3 MW >1 MWel
capacity farm buildings > 10 MWth
all buildings
users, single-family usually from public & all buildings
customers homes own forest commercial farmers &
buildings cooperative sawmills &
fuel supply bulk delivery members & other channels
often by local form sawmills
farmers – forest
owners

Economic impact of biomass heating in Upper Austria

 The state of Upper Austria has pioneered biomass heating in the last
two decades and achieved global leadership in small-scale systems.

 25 % of all biomass boilers installed in the EU are produced in Upper
Austria

• Total employment in biomass heating: 4,500 jobs
• Annual revenue of biomass boiler/ stove industry
750 million US$
in Upper Austria (production, sales, installation): 150 million US$
• Annual investments in new biomass heating systems: 130 million US$
• Annual sales of biomass heating fuels:

Carrots, sticks and tambourines

Upper Austria's sustainable energy strategy
3 Pillars

Regulatory Financial Information
measures measures activities

"sticks" "carrots" "tambourines"

Upper Austria's sustainable energy strategy –
example biomass heating

"sticks" "carrots" "tambourines"

Regulatory measures Financial measures Information & training

• Emission & efficiency • Investment grant • Energy advice
standards programs • Training programs
• Publications,
• Fuel requirements • Renewable heating
• Renewable heating as a program campaigns &
requirement competitions
mandate • Local energy action
• Minimum • Contracting program plans
• Regional R & D • OEC - sustainable
requirements energy business
heating & cooling program, pilot network
projects

stimulate demand
Policy Packages

support supply

Overcoming "the chicken or the egg" problem

Building up a local market for automatic pellet heating

The fuel supply chain

• fuel quality standards (production & handling)
• bulk delivery (fully-pressurized trucks)

The equipment

• well-functioning pellet boilers
• stringent emission standards
• high consumer convenience
• trained technicians for installing & servicing

The customers

• homes & larger buildings
(to avoid too long payback for bulk delivery systems)

 Information and awareness for market actors and stakeholders

Challenges in
Young Markets

Customer requirements to
a pellet heating systems

very less not

important important important important

Reliability 91 7 0 0 2
0 2
Convenience + high quality 82 16 1 0 1
0 2
Good advice 81 16 1 0 3
2 2
Cost/performance ratio 77 18 3 4
7 3
After sale service 58 32 7 3 4
9
Regional partners 52 30 14

Service contract 34 32 23

Good brand 33 31 29

Product design 24 42 21

Documentation of the survey
n= 300 telephone-interview with austrian customers since 1996
survey period: from 01. to 08. September 2008, maximum statistic fluctuation range is about ± 5,43 %

What do we need to achieve
these requirements?

Pellets:

- High quality – certified productions
- Availability of pellets delivery in bulk

Pellet boilers and storage solution:

- Approved and field testet
- Automated and comfortable

Installers, technicians and advisers:

- Well trained and skilled

Sustainable Energy Policies:

 Incentive programs; Public relation; Clusternetwork
 Legal requirements

Certified pellet production

Pellet production has to be under examination

Pellets: requirements on quality

In Europe pellets have to meet the standard EN 14961-2/A1

• Diameter: 6 - 8 mm ; 1/4 - 5/16 in
• Length: 3,15-40 mm ; 5/4 – 1.6 in
• No chemical adhesive
• Calorific value: >16,5 MJ/kg ; 7,200 BTU/lb
• Ash content < 0,5 %
• Water content < 10%
• Bulk density: min. 600 kg/m³ ; 37 lb/ft³
• Ash melting point: > 1.200°C ; 2.200°F
• Fines < 3,15 mm: < 1%

It‘s important that customer use standard pellets –
then pellet boilers run well and with low emissions

The main quality issues

Problem Limits/Requirements

Length Blocked vacuum suction system max. 4 cm /1.5“

Diameter Unburned pellets 6 – 8 mm / 1/4“ – 5/16“

Ash melting point Slag on the burner plate < 1.200°C , 2,200 °F

Fines < 3,15 mm Blocked auger screw and to < 0.5 %
much fly ash
through a screen of 3,15 mm
Low consistent Damaging the pellets during
hardness (bulk blowing in – lot of fines in the > 600 kg/m³; 37
density) tank pounds/ft³

Chlorine Damages of combustion < 0.03 % relativ to dry mater
chamber
> 1.5%
Ash content Poor in proportion to the price

Pellets: bulk delivery

with pneumatic truck

Convenient
Clean
Dust-free

On-board electronic scale

Pellets: bulk delivery

with pneumatic truck

Max. 96 ft presser vessel with
with pressurized air
transport system

preassurized air
0.5 -1.0 bar

filling capacity
5 minutes per 1 ton

Pellet boilers:

for Domestic heating

Capacity range

11,500 - 41,000 BTU/hr
17,000 - 51,000 BTU/hr
20,500 - 68,300 BTU/hr
27,300 - 85,300 BTU/hr
34,000 - 109,500 BTU/hr
37,500 - 123,000 BTU/hr
51,000 - 164,000 BTU/hr
58,000 - 191,000 BTU/hr

Pellet boilers:

for Commercial heating

Cascade boiler

246,000 - 955,000 BTU/hr

Pellet boiler: for Commercial

Energybox

• Pre-fabricated
• Ready to plug-in

Cornish Elementery School Forest cooperative
New Hampshire, USA Quebec, Canada

Pellet boilers: highly convenient

Automated cleaning system
• Very convenient
• No manual cleaning during the

heating season
• Constant high efficency

Electrical
ignition

Automated ash compression
system with external box

Pellets boiler:
storage solutions

Fabric tank - capacity up to 9 ton

Empty Full

min. 6.6 ft
max. 7.8 ft

Patent registered EP 10155313.9 /17.03.2009

Training & knowledge transfer

• Training programme for installers (plumbers) and those
involved in the supply and specification – energy advisers,

Architects, local authorities, building officers,

politicians etc.

ÖkoFEN-Pellet-Academy in UK

After sale service

• well trained service
partners which are
approachable on a
service hot line and
provide a repair service

• training program for
installers (plumbers)
has to be provided by
the boiler manufacturer.

How the cooperation works

politics media public
etc. bodies
OEC
international
companies & the OEC-Team partners

customers

home owners + businesses +
public buildings

Driving the market through standards

Fuel
• early standardisation of pellet fuels: a important reason for Austria's

pionieering role
• highly standardised fuel allows for high efficiency and low emission

combustion technologies were developed based on and optimised for
the standardised fuel
• warranty of the boilers only if standardised pellets are used
• European pellet fuel standard

Equipment standards (Upper Austria)
• efficiency and emission standards
• regularely up-dated to drive innovation

Emissions & efficiency of biomass boilers

Results from more than 1,000 boiler tests

Efficiency factor of CO emissions of
tested biomass boilers tested biomass boilers

Source: FJ-BLT Wieselburg; Bioenergy 2020+

Raising awareness & skills

• end consumers, e.g.:
- costs (higher investment costs, lower fuel costs, public support)
- where to install (storage), how to operate
- fuel supply (availability, price stability)

• installers, building professionals, e.g.
- technical know-how to plan & install & service, storage solutions

• stakeholders, media, authorities e.g.
- sustainability of biomass
- costs

Biomass Tank – an information program
in the early market development phase

1997-1999

• market analysis on automatic pellet heating systems and pellet logistics
• test run in 8 family homes (heating season 1997)

conclusions: storage room should be sized according to the annual heating demand,
storage rooms have to properly sealed during delivery, only boilers meeting standards
should be installed

• info leaflets for 4 targets groups (end consumers, fuel distributors,
boiler manufacturers, fuel manufacturers)

• on-site check of 60 pellet heating systems, collection of operational
experiences

• half-day info events for installers: 100+ installers participated

Market development activities today

• energy advice (15,000 individual face-to-face advice sessions, for
homeowners, public bodies and companies training programmes)

• "Energy Academy" (for professionals across the value chain:
manufacturers, planners, installers, building professionals, users)

• technical site-visits for potential users (commercial + public buildings)
• market analysis: survey to 1,100 homeowners that installed a biomass

heating system or a heat pump in the last years
• export support program
• competitions & campaigns



Lobbying and Networking

Together is better!

Government

local and federal

Politicians

Authorities

Camber of
commerce

Journalists

Renewable Incentive Scheme
in Upper Austria - examples

• 3.100 US$ for pellet boilers or wood chip boilers in

private households

• 40% Subsidies of the investment costs for a

pellet- or wood chip boiler for commercial applications

• Subsidies for R&D – Product development

The result – high-tech biomass boiler technology

Regional pellets campaigns
2008 and 2009

Funded by the state
government of
Upper Austria

• 500 billboards
• Radio and TV spots
• Pellets competion
• Complementary advertising by boiler producers

Export activities

•Exhibitions – joint booth
•Export tours
•Conferences
•Financial support

How to get a pellet market started

• take a "package approach" (regulatory, financial & training/awareness
programmes)

• communicate the benefits (not "just" climate protection)

• allow for a learning curve across the value chain (demonstration
programmes & pellets campaigns & training)

• identify most promising markets (often new construction)

• understand progress & communicate success & take corrective action
(market intelligence)

• take a longer term perspective

Report & video
available at

www.oec-en.at

International Training Seminar
on Biomass Heating
May 17-19, 2011, Linz/Austria

• biomass heating technologies & market development
(wood pellets & wood chips)

• technical training sessions & site-visits
• in English
• further information: www.oec-en.at & at our booth in the vendor fair

European Pellet Conference 2012

February 29 – March 1, 2012

Wels / Austria

Deadline Call for Papers:
October 5, 2011

www.wsed.at

O.Ö. Energiesparverband,
Landstrasse 45, A-4020 Linz,
T: +43-732-7720-14380,
[email protected], www.esv.or.at

The end of the oil-era?

36 %

oil-heating < 0.01 %
> 85 %

renewable energy 32 %
technologies 1999 2009