New handbook on field energy crops i Europe - 13.11.2009

The ENCROP project, supported financially by the European Commission under the Intelligent Energy - Europe Programme, has issued a handbook on energy crops.

 

The handbook contains practical information on the utilisation of field energy crops for heat and power. The crops discussed are reed canary grass (RCG), willow, hemp and poplar.  These crops were chosen because they are the energy crops with the greatest potential in the project countries: Finland, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Germany and Austria. Miscanthus and cereal straw, for example, are not comprised by the handbook, because their use is already well reported elsewhere.

 

Production of biogas from energy crops is also introduced. The handbook details cultivation and harvesting of crops, logistics, energy production technologies, rationality and economics of production. Other important issues, including support and incentive mechanisms, are also discussed.

 

The handbook is mainly targeted at authorities, project developers, investors, plant operators, potential bioenergy users, the applied research community and representatives of companies involved in the crop-to-energy production chain. In addition, five national handbooks were produced during the project, which give more precise information on selected crops than this compilation. 

 

Find the handbook at www.encrop.net.