Assessment of environmental impact of biomass power plants to increase the social acceptance of renewable energy technologies

摘要

ObjectiveThe objectives of the European Union (EU) policy agenda are to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and to decrease the dependence of EU member countries from fossil fuel sources. In order to achieve these policy objectives, in the last decades the number of biomass power plants has increased throughout the EU. This study analyzed the environmental impacts of the bioenergy systems at global and local level to support communication and information strategies to increase social acceptance and to reduce conflicts between stakeholders. The environmental impacts were estimated to a sample of biomass power plants in North Italy selected based on the size, feedstock and type (cogeneration or heating). The study aims to identify and evaluate the environmental impacts associated with the thermal energy production in biomass power plants using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach.