For increased use of wood biomass for energy
There is a significant need for new knowledge about the generation and use of bioenergy in Europe, as well as for co-operation between European countries sharing common interests. Insufficient communication would affect the rational co-operation between different sectors, different parts of the value chain from the forest to the power plant and different decision-making levels. The ECHAINE project's ultimate aim was to provide efficient tools for the identification and evaluation of economical and environmentally friendly supply chains of energy wood. More specifically, a multi-disciplinary approach was adopted by an international scientific network comprising members from nine European countries to build efficient communication links. Data for analyses were collected from field experiments, research reports and interviews with farmers, forest owners as well as contractor companies and citizens. Subsequent analyses of the current technological state of energy wood production and utilisation for heat and power generation could help identify the range of application in individual countries. To combine spatial data generated within the various parts of the project an interactive Geographic Information System (GIS) application was developed by researchers at the Atos Origin laboratories. Based on web technology, it allows sharing data from different sources of information and covering technological along with the most relevant socio-economic aspects of the utilisation of energy wood. The final version of the interactive Geographical Information System has been integrated in the ECHAINE project site: http://www.echaine.org/
