REMED Project: REDUCTION OF EMISSION BY BIOENERGY AS RURAL AREAS DEVELOPMENT
About this good practice
Pruning residues are a potential cause of environmental and cultivation problems. It is well known that in the case of problems related to unhealthy plants, chopping the residues and subsequently burying them can lead to a negative phytosanitary return.
In order to improve the agricultural environment and offer new opportunities for the valorisation of wood waste, the supply chain project was born, which deals with
- Organisation of a capillary collection system directly on the farmland.
- Creation of intermediate storage platforms for the material.
- Chipping the collected waste and transferring it to thermal power plants for energy valorisation.
After data collection and studies Remed Project realized a photobioreactor and installed the tank in a very special place: the Praglia Abbey, that was founded between the 11th and 12th century at the foot of the Euganean Hills, about 12 kilometres from Padua. The photobioreactor uses the pruning residues.
The production of energy is the final stage of the supply chain project: collection, logistics and reuse have the best impact in environmental and economic terms if managed locally with the logic of the short supply chain. Emissions from the thermal power plant are partly fed to the photobioreactor and feed the growth process of microalgae that can be reused as a soil conditioner in agricultural soil. The stakeholders and beneficiaries of the project are the local citizens, companies and local public administrations.
Resources needed
€ 144.990,10 (Veneto EAFRD 2014-2020)
Evidence of success
The project realised a photobioreactor and a tank that use pruning residues to produce bioenergy for the inhabitants of the area.
Downstream of a thermal energy generation process from biomass (which already has 0 impact in terms of CO2 emissions), a further 10% of CO2 was subtracted, resulting in a negative final result in terms of total emissions.
Potential for learning or transfer
RE-MED develops a small bioenergy plant that the local population can benefit from. The initiative involved many municipalities and, as the area hosts many farms, it directly impacts on local citizens as it solves the problems linked to the management of pruning residues.
The project is also a best practice for its promotional approach. It used many communication tools, such as: website, brochures, video, social media profiles and events. The communication focused mainly on the respect and valorisation of nature and explained the life cycle of the biomass from pruning residues to microalgae production.
The project partners let the citizens know the development of the project inviting them to see the realization.
This project is repeatable in all rural areas that produce mass or pruning residues.
Further information
Website
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