ASSESSMENT OF WOOD AND AGRICULTURAL RESIDUE BIOMASS ENERGY POTENTIAL IN GEORGIA Prepared for UNDP under Micro-Capital Grant Agreement for Non-Credit Related Activities of 26.06.14 WORLD EXPERIENCE FOR GEORGIA TBIILISI 2014 Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 2 Acronyms ........................................................................................................................................................ 4 Summary ......................................................................................................................................................... 5 Assessment of Agricultural Residue Availability from Perennial Crops in Georgia ...................................... 13 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 13 Methodology for Perennial Crops ............................................................................................................ 15 Vineyards’ Pruning Residue ...................................................................................................................... 17 Fruit orchards’ Pruning Residue................................................................................................................ 23 Apple, pear, peach .................................................................................................................................... 36 Hazelnut, Bay Leaf .................................................................................................................................... 43 Bay Leaf ..................................................................................................................................................... 50 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................. 56 References: ............................................................................................................................................... 63 Annual Crop Residual Biomass by Regions of Georgia ................................................................................. 65 Methods and Materials............................................................................................................................. 66 Study Area and Targeted Crops ................................................................................................................ 66 Potential Crop Residues in Georgia .......................................................................................................... 66 Main findings ............................................................................................................................................ 66 Crop Analysis ................................................................................................................................................. 68 Wheat ....................................................................................................................................................... 69 Barley ........................................................................................................................................................ 70 Corn ........................................................................................................................................................... 72 Kidney Been .............................................................................................................................................. 74 Oat ............................................................................................................................................................ 75 Sunflower .................................................................................................................................................. 76 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................. 77 References ................................................................................................................................................ 80 Wood waste and Alternative Woody Biomass Potential in Georgia ............................................................ 81 Background ............................................................................................................................................... 81 Identification and characterization of potential new sources of woody biomass not in use now but potentially useful for energy..................................................................................................................... 95 References .............................................................................................................................................. 101 Recommendations and future plans .......................................................................................................... 102 Annexes ................................................................................................................................................... 112 1 Introduction Biomass provides a significant contribution to the world’s energy supply and thus plays an important role in the fight against climate change reducing an impact from greenhouse gas emissions. Bioenergy accounts for only 10% of the global energy consumption at present1 but the potential of bioenergy will be increasing in near future. Increasing of the role of biomass in energy supply requires the use of all available biomass resources in a sustainable way, without causing directly or indirectly negative impacts. Sustainable production of bioenergy can also reduce energy poverty; contribute to rural development, to increased economic activity and technological advancement. Biomass is playing a major role in Georgia’s energy supply. The recent studies indicate2 that fuel wood may be the biggest indigenous energy source and along with hydropower it is a strong factor for reducing country’s energy dependence. The same studies indicate that unorganized and poorly controlled exploitation of this energy resource is leading to rapid degradation of Georgia’s forests in accessible areas resulting in significant environmental and economic damage. It is expected that the accessibility of fuel wood will continue to strongly diminish and may lead to further forest degradation and energy shortage in nearest years. It is necessary to look for alternative local energy resources that can substitute the fuel wood and provide the heating for population. Residual biomass waste of forestry and agriculture is an important candidate for such energy use that is being effectively used in many countries.3Our study also indicates that proper disposal and improved management of agricultural and forestry waste is an absolutely necessary measure to avoid the damage to wood and agriculture ecosystems caused by current practices. Effective utilization of the available biomass waste potential is a way of preserving the country’s energy security and it may also lead to deployment of new modern technologies and knowledge which is a development factor in its own right. 4 The main purpose of this report is to assess the available resources of biomass residues from forestry and agricultural activities and to evaluate their energy potential. This includes the residues from annual and perennial crops, and residues of woody biomass. Energy resources are evaluated and compared with data on different crops by different regions of Georgia. However, for more accurate regional bioenergy planning a more detailed assessment of regional spatial distribution of crop residues is needed. One also has to take into account the alternative use of crop residues for forage or returning to the soil for preserving the soil quality. This study is an attempt to make a preliminary estimation of biomass potential in Georgia and to offer the recommendations for future research. The report covers three main sources of potential biomass – wood biomass from forestry, woody biomass from perennial agricultural crops and biomass of annual crops. 1World Bioenergy Association - http://www.worldbioenergy.org/ 2 Renewable Energy potential of Georgia and Policies for its Utilization - WEG 2008 http://weg.ge/wp- content/uploads/2012/12/renewable_energy1.pdf 3Household Energy End-Use Survey, USAID Hydropower And Energy Planning Project (HPEP) June 20, 2014 4 Recommendations for Effective Energy Supply Caucasus Environmental NGO network CENN – February, 2014 2 The preliminary assessment indicates that there is a great energy potential of biomass in Georgia that is practically wasted now, and even more, it creates a significant negative environmental impact on the forests and agricultural land. Such a condition requires a more comprehensive environmental assessment and programmatic approach in order to use the existing potential and reduce the environmental damage in a systemic and sustainable way. The study is based on a desk research and interviews with knowledge field experts. Paper is divided into 3 parts, each part offers separate research conducted by different experts: 1. Assessment of Agricultural Residue Availability from Perennial Crops in Georgia – by Rusudan