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Manure-based biogas may make an important contribution both to the energy transition and to the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Despite these benefits, in Switzerland the use of manure as an energy source is still very limited. The engagement of farmers in biogas production is low and the barriers to their participation are not well known. This study investigates the behavior of Swiss farmers towards anaerobic digestion and the potential impact of changing incentives. Based on a comprehensive survey, including a choice experiment, their willingness to participate in manure-based biogas production is investigated at different levels. An Agent-Based Model (ABM) is designed and used to simulate the development of biogas facilities under different framework conditions. The agent's' properties are derived from the farmers’ survey. Simulation results show that revenue for produced energy is the main driver. An increase of 0.10 CHF/kWh energy revenues (compared to 0.45 CHF/kWh today) would enable the establishment of 10 additional biogas facilities (10% more than today) enabling the manure of an additional 4285 livestock units to be mobilized for biogas, (<1% of the total available manure). The influence of the availability of additional material (co-substrate) for digestion is visible but with even less impact, while a one-time remuneration grant has barely any influence. In this context, the mobilization of the full resources potential involves substantial changes at the technological, organizational, institutional, political, economic, and socio-cultural levels.
Vanessa Burg; Klaus G. Troitzsch; Deniz Akyol; Urs Baier; Stefanie Hellweg; Oliver Thees. Farmer's willingness to adopt private and collective biogas facilities: An agent-based modeling approach. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2021, 167, 105400 .
AMA StyleVanessa Burg, Klaus G. Troitzsch, Deniz Akyol, Urs Baier, Stefanie Hellweg, Oliver Thees. Farmer's willingness to adopt private and collective biogas facilities: An agent-based modeling approach. Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 2021; 167 ():105400.
Chicago/Turabian StyleVanessa Burg; Klaus G. Troitzsch; Deniz Akyol; Urs Baier; Stefanie Hellweg; Oliver Thees. 2021. "Farmer's willingness to adopt private and collective biogas facilities: An agent-based modeling approach." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 167, no. : 105400.
Wood fuel has become central in environmental policy and decision-making processes in cross-sectoral areas. Proper consideration of different types of woody biomass is fundamental in forming energy transition and decarbonization strategies. We quantified the development of theoretical (TPs) and sustainable (SPs) potentials of wood fuel from forests, trees outside forests, wood residues and waste wood in Switzerland for 2020, 2035 and 2050. Ecological and economic restrictions, timber market situations and drivers of future developments (area size, tree growth, wood characteristics, population growth, exporting/importing (waste wood)) were considered. We estimated a SP of wood fuel between 26.5 and 77.8 PJ/a during the three time points. Results demonstrate that the SP of wood fuel could be significantly increased already in the short term. This, as a moderate stock reduction (MSR) strategy in forests, can lead to large surpluses in SPs compared to the wood fuel already used today (~36 PJ/a), with values higher by 51% (+18.2 PJ) in 2020 and by 59% (+21.3 PJ) in 2035. To implement these surpluses (e.g., with a cascade approach), a more circular economy with sufficient processing capacities of the subsequent timber industries and the energy plants to convert the resources is required.
Matthias Erni; Vanessa Burg; Leo Bont; Oliver Thees; Marco Ferretti; Golo Stadelmann; Janine Schweier. Current (2020) and Long-Term (2035 and 2050) Sustainable Potentials of Wood Fuel in Switzerland. Sustainability 2020, 12, 9749 .
AMA StyleMatthias Erni, Vanessa Burg, Leo Bont, Oliver Thees, Marco Ferretti, Golo Stadelmann, Janine Schweier. Current (2020) and Long-Term (2035 and 2050) Sustainable Potentials of Wood Fuel in Switzerland. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (22):9749.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMatthias Erni; Vanessa Burg; Leo Bont; Oliver Thees; Marco Ferretti; Golo Stadelmann; Janine Schweier. 2020. "Current (2020) and Long-Term (2035 and 2050) Sustainable Potentials of Wood Fuel in Switzerland." Sustainability 12, no. 22: 9749.
The concept of symbiosis, a mutually beneficial relationship, can be applied to food and energy systems. Greenhouse systems and biogas plants are interesting technologies for food–energy symbiosis, because both are usually based in rural areas and offer opportunities for the exchange of materials (e.g., biomass waste from the greenhouse as input to biogas plants) and energy (heat from biogas co‐generation for heating greenhouses). In this paper, the focus lies on manure resources for biogas in Switzerland, because manure amounts are high and currently largely underused. We provide a spatial analysis of the availability of manure as feedstock to biogas plants and heat source for greenhouses. In this feasibility study, we coupled the potential waste heat supply from manure‐based biogas and the greenhouse peak heat demand. We quantified the area‐based greenhouse heating demand for year‐around tomato production (from 0.98 to 2.67 MW ha−1 where the farms are located) and the available heat supply from manure‐based biogas (up to 3,200 GJ a−1 km−2). A total maximum greenhouse area of 104 ha could be sustained with manure‐based biogas heat, producing 20,800 tonnes a−1 tomatoes. This amounts to 11% of the total domestic tomato demand. Although the results are specific to Switzerland, our method can be adapted and also applied to other regions.
Vanessa Burg; Farzin Golzar; Gillianne Bowman; Stefanie Hellweg; Ramin Roshandel. Symbiosis opportunities between food and energy system: The potential of manure‐based biogas as heating source for greenhouse production. Journal of Industrial Ecology 2020, 25, 648 -662.
AMA StyleVanessa Burg, Farzin Golzar, Gillianne Bowman, Stefanie Hellweg, Ramin Roshandel. Symbiosis opportunities between food and energy system: The potential of manure‐based biogas as heating source for greenhouse production. Journal of Industrial Ecology. 2020; 25 (3):648-662.
Chicago/Turabian StyleVanessa Burg; Farzin Golzar; Gillianne Bowman; Stefanie Hellweg; Ramin Roshandel. 2020. "Symbiosis opportunities between food and energy system: The potential of manure‐based biogas as heating source for greenhouse production." Journal of Industrial Ecology 25, no. 3: 648-662.
The transition towards a reliable, sustainable, low-carbon energy system is a major challenge of the 21st century. Due to the lower energy density of many renewable energy sources, a future system is expected to be more decentralized, leading to significant changes at the regional scale. This study analyzes the feasibility of the energy transition in the Swiss canton of Aargau as an illustrative example and explores different strategies to satisfy the local demand for electricity, heat, and fuel by 2035. In particular, we assess the potential contribution of biomass. Four scenarios demonstrate what energy demand proportion could be covered by bioenergy if different priorities were given to the provision of heat, electricity, and fuel. The impact of improved conversion technologies is also considered. The results show that the sustainably available renewable energy sources in canton Aargau will probably not be sufficient to cover its forecasted energy demand in 2035, neither with present nor future biomass conversion technologies. At best, 74% of the energy demand could be met by renewables. Biomass can increase the degree of autarky by a maximum of 13%. Depending on the scenario, at least 26–43% (2500–5700 GWh) of total energy demand is lacking, particularly for mobility purposes.
Renato Lemm; Raphael Haymoz; Astrid Björnsen Gurung; Vanessa Burg; Tom Strebel; Oliver Thees. Replacing Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Power with Renewable Energy: Utopia or Valid Option? A Swiss Case Study of Bioenergy. Energies 2020, 13, 2051 .
AMA StyleRenato Lemm, Raphael Haymoz, Astrid Björnsen Gurung, Vanessa Burg, Tom Strebel, Oliver Thees. Replacing Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Power with Renewable Energy: Utopia or Valid Option? A Swiss Case Study of Bioenergy. Energies. 2020; 13 (8):2051.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRenato Lemm; Raphael Haymoz; Astrid Björnsen Gurung; Vanessa Burg; Tom Strebel; Oliver Thees. 2020. "Replacing Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Power with Renewable Energy: Utopia or Valid Option? A Swiss Case Study of Bioenergy." Energies 13, no. 8: 2051.
In the energy sector, decisions and technology implementations often necessitate a mid- to long-term perspective. Thus, reliable assessments of future resource availability are needed to support the decision-making process. In Switzerland, similarly to other countries, only a limited part of the available wet biomass feedstock is currently used for anaerobic digestion. Understanding potential future trajectories of the available biomass amount is therefore essential to facilitate its deployment for energetic use and to establish adequate bioenergy strategies. Here, we utilized extensive government data, historical trends, and data from academic literature to identify relevant drivers and their trends. Starting with current biomass potential, the future availability and variation of resources was estimated by taking into account selected drivers and their projected future development. Our results indicated an increase of over 6% in available wet bioenergy resources by 2050 (from 43.4 petajoules (PJ) of primary energy currently to 44.3 PJ in 2035 and 45.4 PJ in 2050), where a Monte Carlo analysis showed that this projection is linked to high uncertainty. Manure remains by far the biomass with the largest additional potential. Possible consequences regarding the country’s pool of biogas facilities and their development are discussed.
Vanessa Burg; Gillianne Bowman; Stefanie Hellweg; Oliver Thees. Long-Term Wet Bioenergy Resources in Switzerland: Drivers and Projections until 2050. Energies 2019, 12, 3585 .
AMA StyleVanessa Burg, Gillianne Bowman, Stefanie Hellweg, Oliver Thees. Long-Term Wet Bioenergy Resources in Switzerland: Drivers and Projections until 2050. Energies. 2019; 12 (18):3585.
Chicago/Turabian StyleVanessa Burg; Gillianne Bowman; Stefanie Hellweg; Oliver Thees. 2019. "Long-Term Wet Bioenergy Resources in Switzerland: Drivers and Projections until 2050." Energies 12, no. 18: 3585.
A fast and effective uptake of bioenergy can be fostered by identifying regions where both the resources availability and socio-economic contexts are suitable. This paper uses cluster and hot spot analysis on the spatially-explicit data of bioenergy potential in 2294 Swiss municipalities. The identified clusters, hot spots and cold spots of municipalities in terms of bioenergy are then assessed for their socio-economic characteristics. As a result, five municipality clusters (groups) with similar bioenergy potential structure in Switzerland are identified: (1) forest wood, (2) manure, (3) mixed agriculture, (4) low potential and (5) anthropogenic bioenergy municipalities. Swiss bioenergy hot spots lie in urban or intensely farmed areas of the Central Plateau, while the cold spots are located in the Alps. The socio-economic analysis shows that factors such as household income, political orientation and population density differ strongly between various clusters, hot spots and cold spots. These results help to find areas where new bioenergy projects are best located from a resource and socio-economic perspective and allow developing bioenergy promotion strategies that are tailored to local circumstances.
Lukas Mohr; Vanessa Burg; Oliver Thees; Evelina Trutnevyte. Spatial hot spots and clusters of bioenergy combined with socio-economic analysis in Switzerland. Renewable Energy 2019, 140, 840 -851.
AMA StyleLukas Mohr, Vanessa Burg, Oliver Thees, Evelina Trutnevyte. Spatial hot spots and clusters of bioenergy combined with socio-economic analysis in Switzerland. Renewable Energy. 2019; 140 ():840-851.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLukas Mohr; Vanessa Burg; Oliver Thees; Evelina Trutnevyte. 2019. "Spatial hot spots and clusters of bioenergy combined with socio-economic analysis in Switzerland." Renewable Energy 140, no. : 840-851.
Domestic and imported biomass or biofuels used for energy purposes play an important role in many future energy scenarios and national policies. But both the realizable potential for biomass and the environmental consequences of its deployment for energy can be controversial. The aim of this study is to identify environmentally-optimal strategies for bioenergy, considering domestic biomass resource availability, the full energy system context, and a consequential life cycle perspective. We apply our approach to the case of Switzerland and three alternative energy scenarios for the year 2035, and compare the environmentally-optimal strategies obtained over several single-issue and one fully-aggregated impact indicator. From the optimal solutions, we analyze substrate-specific (i.e., per biomass resource type) marginal impacts of biomass supply and the influences of boundary conditions imposed on biomass use by the different future energy scenarios. Minimizing impacts on global warming, cumulative fossil energy demand, and the Swiss ecological scarcity method leads to near-complete utilization of sustainably-available biomass resources, whereas less biomass is deployed when optimizing for particulate matter formation, land use (biodiversity loss), and water footprint. The results suggest that increased deployment of energy wood (excluding forest wood apt for material applications) and manures would be environmentally beneficial. In contrast, substrates suitable for animal feeding should not be used for energy purposes due to the burdens associated with increasing the demand for conventional feedstuffs. The findings and case-specific recommendations illustrate the importance of considering a holistic environmental perspective, alongside techno-economic restrictions to the physical biomass potential, when establishing national (bio-)energy policies.
Carl Vadenbo; Davide Tonini; Vanessa Burg; Thomas Fruergaard Astrup; Oliver Thees; Stefanie Hellweg. Environmental optimization of biomass use for energy under alternative future energy scenarios for Switzerland. Biomass and Bioenergy 2018, 119, 462 -472.
AMA StyleCarl Vadenbo, Davide Tonini, Vanessa Burg, Thomas Fruergaard Astrup, Oliver Thees, Stefanie Hellweg. Environmental optimization of biomass use for energy under alternative future energy scenarios for Switzerland. Biomass and Bioenergy. 2018; 119 ():462-472.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCarl Vadenbo; Davide Tonini; Vanessa Burg; Thomas Fruergaard Astrup; Oliver Thees; Stefanie Hellweg. 2018. "Environmental optimization of biomass use for energy under alternative future energy scenarios for Switzerland." Biomass and Bioenergy 119, no. : 462-472.
Livestock farming generates animal manure as a by-product. In comparison to in some countries, manure is hardly used for energy production in Switzerland. A growing awareness of renewable energy needs, resource depletion, and climate challenges make the huge untapped potential of livestock manure very attractive, particularly regarding biogas technology. Here, we assessed the energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions benefits of using manure for biogas, considering its spatial distribution in Switzerland. First, laboratory measurements were conducted to compare the composition of fresh manure with values from literature. Then, detailed assessments of manure availability for biogas production were performed. Finally, the mitigation potential regarding GHG emissions was estimated for three scenarios. The new lab-scale values confirmed early storage as an important phase that is still not considered in practice. Under current farming practice, Swiss manure could produce 430 million m3 biogas or 15 PJ gross biogas yearly, mostly from cattle. However, only 6% of this manure is currently being used for anaerobic digestion. The manure is widely spread across the country in relatively small farms. Considering the spatial distribution of manure and Swiss agricultural structures, there is considerable potential for small-scale individual installations, with a peak of approximately 250 GJ gross biogas yearly, as well as for joint-farm installations. If the currently exploitable amount of manure were used for energy, the emission of 159 kt of CO2 equivalent could be prevented compared to emissions under current management practices. Thus, manure digestion could be promoted for its wide environmental and energetic benefits.
Vanessa Burg; Gillianne Bowman; Michael Haubensak; Urs Baier; Oliver Thees. Valorization of an untapped resource: Energy and greenhouse gas emissions benefits of converting manure to biogas through anaerobic digestion. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 2018, 136, 53 -62.
AMA StyleVanessa Burg, Gillianne Bowman, Michael Haubensak, Urs Baier, Oliver Thees. Valorization of an untapped resource: Energy and greenhouse gas emissions benefits of converting manure to biogas through anaerobic digestion. Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 2018; 136 ():53-62.
Chicago/Turabian StyleVanessa Burg; Gillianne Bowman; Michael Haubensak; Urs Baier; Oliver Thees. 2018. "Valorization of an untapped resource: Energy and greenhouse gas emissions benefits of converting manure to biogas through anaerobic digestion." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 136, no. : 53-62.
Biomass resource assessment constitutes the foundation for integrated bioenergy planning in order to evaluate the sustainable feasibility and to estimate the additional bioenergy potential. Its spatial distribution is an essential criterion to facilitate the exploitation of the untapped bioenergy potential by guiding industry and decision-making processes. This paper provides regionalized and aggregated estimates of the potentially available resources for bioenergy in Switzerland (10 woody and non-woody biomass types). First, considering the different biomass characteristics and available data, appropriate methods at the finest scale possible were elaborated to estimate the annual domestic biomass amount which could theoretically be collected. Then, explicit and rationale restrictions for sustainable bio-energy production were defined according to the current state of the art. Finally, the additional potential was estimated considering the current bioenergy production. The procedures developed can be transferred to other countries and spatial scales according to the local situation and available data. The Swiss biomass theoretical primary energy potential was estimated at 209 PJ per year, with the major contributions from forest wood (108 PJ per year) and animal manure (49 PJ per year). Almost half of the theoretical potential can be used for bioenergy in a sustainable way (26 PJ from forest wood and 27 PJ from animal manure yearly). The main restrictions are competing material utilizations, environmental factors, supply costs, as well as scattered distribution and small scale feasibility.
Vanessa Burg; Gillianne Bowman; Matthias Erni; Renato Lemm; Oliver Thees. Analyzing the potential of domestic biomass resources for the energy transition in Switzerland. Biomass and Bioenergy 2018, 111, 60 -69.
AMA StyleVanessa Burg, Gillianne Bowman, Matthias Erni, Renato Lemm, Oliver Thees. Analyzing the potential of domestic biomass resources for the energy transition in Switzerland. Biomass and Bioenergy. 2018; 111 ():60-69.
Chicago/Turabian StyleVanessa Burg; Gillianne Bowman; Matthias Erni; Renato Lemm; Oliver Thees. 2018. "Analyzing the potential of domestic biomass resources for the energy transition in Switzerland." Biomass and Bioenergy 111, no. : 60-69.
C. Milzow; V. Burg; Wolfgang Kinzelbach. Estimating future ecoregion distributions within the Okavango Delta Wetlands based on hydrological simulations and future climate and development scenarios. Journal of Hydrology 2010, 381, 89 -100.
AMA StyleC. Milzow, V. Burg, Wolfgang Kinzelbach. Estimating future ecoregion distributions within the Okavango Delta Wetlands based on hydrological simulations and future climate and development scenarios. Journal of Hydrology. 2010; 381 (1-2):89-100.
Chicago/Turabian StyleC. Milzow; V. Burg; Wolfgang Kinzelbach. 2010. "Estimating future ecoregion distributions within the Okavango Delta Wetlands based on hydrological simulations and future climate and development scenarios." Journal of Hydrology 381, no. 1-2: 89-100.