Energy potential of agricultural residues in EU

Agricultural residues may include various plant parts such as stems, branches, leaves, chaff, pits, et al. depending upon the crop, methods of harvest, and other parameters. In EU a total of 74 million ha [1] are being cultivated, mainly with arable crops, producing agricultural residues. Due to the wide variety of crops cultivated in various EU regions a wide range of agricultural residues are produced. Field crop residues and arboricultural residues were analyzed for different EU regions and different crops. The estimations for the available quantities were based on both the cultivated area of each crop and the respective product/residue ratio for each one. Furthermore, an assessment of the environmental benefits and/or risks from their use for energy purposes was conducted. Alternative markets were also identified and the key parameters affecting the economic viability of residues as a fuel were defined. The purpose of this work is to estimate the energy potential of agricultural residues based on both the potential and the exploitable quantities in several EU regions. Furthermore, the environmental impacts of their exploitation for energy purposes are recorded along with some indicative prices of straw in various countries. Finally, potential non energy markets are identified.