11
A CIRCULAR SOLUTION FOR ENERGY RESILIENCE
How do we compare with other countries? On a European and international level, advancements within the bioeconomy and AD have been ongoing for years. Sweden, Germany and the UK are all far ahead in the development of these sectors compared to Ireland. Several factors play into the success of these countries. With the clear European wide agenda towards pushing the bioeconomy forward, looking towards the leaders in this field will offer better direction towards this transition.
Sweden » Sweden is an EU leader in the generation of renewable energy, with bioenergy accounting for 38% of total energy use. » This is the result of Swedish society’s principles of individual responsibility and successive years of supportive policy. Sweden is considered one of the EU’s leaders in the use of renewable fuels, with 52.6% share of energy from renewable sources in 2014 . The country is aiming to become the world’s first fossil free country and is surely on its way with a number of cities and regions making the transition48. Sweden has been producing biogas from sewage sludge at wastewater treatment plants since the 1930s (still the single most contributing feedstock). By the mid 1990s as co-digestion plants were introduced, biogas was being produced from a number of feedstocks including waste from the agricultural sector, households, slaughterhouses, catering establishments and food processing industries.
In 2015, the country was producing about 1.95 TWh/year from 282 biogas plants, in which 187 GWh was derived from landfills49. Today bioenergy is Sweden’s largest source of energy use, accounting for 38% of total energy in 201850. The majority of biogas produced and imported into Sweden is upgraded to biomethane to be used for natural gas vehicles (NGV). The remaining biogas replaces natural gas use in industry and heating51. In 2018 the country made further GHG emission reductions through producing and utilizing 2.8 million tonnes of digestate. Of this, 2.4 million tonnes replaced mineral fertilizers in agriculture52. The progress Sweden has made in transitioning away from fossil-fuels is a result of several factors. The Swedish model of a horizontal society evokes principles of empowerment, concern for others and the common good amongst individuals53. Swedish society is further tied to the notion of land and the natural environment as commons, in which “each individual is entitled to use the natural environment freely, regardless of public or private ownership rights, provided the use is reasonable and restrained”54. This concept of individual responsibility is embedded into the fabric of Swedish society and has shaped the way people have responded and changed their behaviours regarding climate change. The wide-scale and successful development of this industry is additionally the result of ambitious targets and supportive policy measures, whereby years of successive governments have pursued policies to reduce the economy’s dependence of fuel imports far ahead of EU policy55. The city of Växjö is an example.
