Bioenergy options

The Bioenergy Options for New Zealand project (2007 to 2009) considered the potential contribution of bioenergy to New Zealand’s energy future, with a focus on liquid biofuels. The objective of this project was to identify a range of bioenergy resources and technologies that could provide a meaningful contribution to New Zealand's energy future. Led by Scion, the project was aligned to the EnergyScape (NIWA) portfolio of projects.

The deliverables from this project were

A situation analysis that identified the waste, residue and crop options for realising bioenergy potential and determined the most appropriate areas of research for New Zealand to pursue.

A pathways analysis including economic, environmental and efficiency analyses of each of the identified bioenergy pathways, as well as identifying which pathways have the most potential for realising a sustainable energy future for New Zealand.

An analysis of large-scale bioenergy from forestry that considered the potential nationwide impacts of growing forests for energy through a preliminary assessment of the environmental, economic and land-use implications. The principal focus of this study was on the production of liquid fuels, as finding low carbon, renewable options for transportation is recognised as significant challenge for New Zealand.

A transition analysis that outlined options for moving from low levels of bioenergy and liquid biofuels to having a large volume of woody biomass used for bioenergy.

A research and development strategy that outlined research priorities for achieving sustainable and economic bioenergy supply in New Zealand, including work required on feedstocks and conversion technologies.

The results of the project are summarised in Bioenergy options for New Zealand: key findings from five studies [pdf]