International Biofuel Trade - A Study of the Swedish Import
Author
Summary, in English
Following the development of large-scale use of biomass energy in the EU, international biofuel trade
is a plausible scenario and something that is already taking place in Northern Europe. This paper
focuses on Swedish biofuel imports, both direct and indirect imports, the latter which derive from the
fact that part of the imported pulpwood and timber end up as fuel. The objective is to describe the
biomass import flows, the actors involved and analyse the fundamental drivers for the trade flows.
The rapid expansion of biomass energy, that has taken place in district heating since the early 1990s in
Sweden, has been met partly by imports. The direct biofuel import was estimated to 18 PJ for 2000,
which corresponded to 26% of the biofuel supply in district heating. The total indirect biofuel import
was estimated to 9 PJ of which 5.5 PJ is consumed in the district heating sector. Sawmill wood chips,
decay-damaged stemwood and pellets are imported from Estonia and Latvia, whereas used wood and
solid recovered fuels are imported from Germany and the Netherlands. Tall oil and pellets are imported
from North America.
Key factors related to the Swedish biofuel import are analysed, both from the view of Swedish demand
and from the view of supply in the Baltic countries as well as supply from Germany or the Netherlands.
National differences in energy policy are perhaps the most important driving force behind the
seemingly strange trade flows. Structures in the different national energy systems are also discussed as
well as the transformation process that has taken place in the forest sector in the Baltic countries.
is a plausible scenario and something that is already taking place in Northern Europe. This paper
focuses on Swedish biofuel imports, both direct and indirect imports, the latter which derive from the
fact that part of the imported pulpwood and timber end up as fuel. The objective is to describe the
biomass import flows, the actors involved and analyse the fundamental drivers for the trade flows.
The rapid expansion of biomass energy, that has taken place in district heating since the early 1990s in
Sweden, has been met partly by imports. The direct biofuel import was estimated to 18 PJ for 2000,
which corresponded to 26% of the biofuel supply in district heating. The total indirect biofuel import
was estimated to 9 PJ of which 5.5 PJ is consumed in the district heating sector. Sawmill wood chips,
decay-damaged stemwood and pellets are imported from Estonia and Latvia, whereas used wood and
solid recovered fuels are imported from Germany and the Netherlands. Tall oil and pellets are imported
from North America.
Key factors related to the Swedish biofuel import are analysed, both from the view of Swedish demand
and from the view of supply in the Baltic countries as well as supply from Germany or the Netherlands.
National differences in energy policy are perhaps the most important driving force behind the
seemingly strange trade flows. Structures in the different national energy systems are also discussed as
well as the transformation process that has taken place in the forest sector in the Baltic countries.
Department/s
Publishing year
2004
Language
English
Pages
205-220
Publication/Series
Biomass & Bioenergy
Volume
26
Issue
3
Full text
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Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Elsevier
Topic
- Energy Systems
Keywords
- biofuel market
- energy policy
- the Baltic countries
- yellow waste
- green waste
- Sweden
- biomass
- biofuel trade
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1873-2909