PelletsinsouthernEurope-Newresources,newproducts,newmarketsTheresoundingsuccessofwoodpelletsmarketsinEuropeanCountriessuchasAustria,DenmarkandSweden,hasyettobereplicatedelsewhere.InSouthernEuropeancountries,thelackofavailablewastewoodmeansthatpelletsfromagriculturalresidues(“agri-pellets”)arethemostpromisingsolution.Withrawmaterialcostsonaparwiththoseforwoodpellets,andanavailabilityaroundtentimesgreater,thepotentialofthismarketisimmense.Inmanyareasoftheworldtoreduceairpollution.Althoughtherearemanyalternativeuses,theenergysectorrepresentsasubstantialmarketwiththepotentialofconsuminglargequantitiesofstraw.Insomeareas,suchasinCalifornia,existingpowergenerationfacilitiesarewithriceproduction,makingthemattractiveutilizationsitesforstraw.AspartoftheEuropeanproject“PelletsforEurope”,amarketassessmentisbeingperformedtoinvestigatetheEuropeanstrawpelletandsouthernEuropeanwoodpelletmarkets.thisassessmentfocusesonEurope,withmoredetailedstudiesofItaly,SpainandGreece.Sofar,thisassessmenthasshowntheagri-pelletmarkettocarrymuchpromiseandenormouslong-termpotential,despitebeingimpededbysignificanttechnicalbarriers.Thesebarriersarehoweversurmountableintheshortandmediumterm.Thisisespeciallytrueinmediumtolargescaleapplicationsofstrawandstrawpelletfiring.inmunicipalheatingforexample,strawandinsomecasesevenstrawpelletshavealreadyfoundextensiveapplication.EasternWashingtongrowersproduceabundantcropsofwheat,barley,andgrassseed.Indoingso,theyproducemillionsoftonsofstraw.Excesscropresiduecanservetoreduceyields,propagatecroppests,andposeanobstacleforplantingthenextcrop.Disposalofexcesscropresidue,especiallyinthehighestyieldingcounties,isaproblem.Fieldburning,thehistoricalandmosteconomicalsolution,isnolongerasociallyacceptable.Researchersconcludedthatcooperativesmightprovidetheappropriateorganizationalformofbusinessneededtoinitiatethisstraw-to-energyconversion.Assuch,thoseproducingthestrawwouldnotonlybenefitfromthedisposalofthisby-product,butwouldstandtobenefitfromthesaleofthestrawandthemanagement/ownershipoftheresultantoff-farmenterprise.Atpresent,theworldenergypatternisbyconventionalenergysourcesandsoonpetroleum,naturalgas,coalprimarily,includingthehydro-energywindenergy,thesolarenergy,thetidalenergy,thegeothermalenergy,thenuclearpower,thehydrogencan,energyandsoonbiologicalenergymanykindsofenergycoexistingconditions.Onenergyandsooncoal,petroleum,naturalgas,geothermalenergy,nuclearpower,notonlythereserves,thedevelopmentquantityarelimited,moreoveristherenewableenergysource.Hydroenergy,windenergy,tidalenergyandsoonrenewableenergysource,althoughisinexhaustibletheoretically,inexhaustible,butmaytheeconomicaldevelopmentquantitynotbebig.Soledependencetheseenergycannotsatisfythenationaleconomybyfarthedevelopmentneed.Thereforethepeoplepredictedthattheenergyhuge,distributedwidespread,mayregenerate,pollutesthesmallbiomassenergybecomethefourthgenerationofenergythemainstreamenergyAspartoftheEuropeanproject“PelletsforEurope”,amarketassessmentisbeingperformedtoinvestigatethecurrentstateofthestrawpelletandsouthernwoodpelletmarket.Theseassessmentwillfromthebasisfortheanalysisofbarriersandformulationofmarketpenetrationstrategies.Thispapersummarisesthefirstresultofthiswork.Amarketpotentialassessmentforagri-pelletswascarriedoutinawiderangeofEuropeancountries.Moredetailedinformationontheexitingpelletmarkets(principallywood)hasalsobeengatheredforSpain,ItalyandGreece.Fromtheseresult,predictionandrecommendationforthesenewandparticularlypromisingmarketplacescanbeformulated.Thefirststepofthisanalysiswastheestimationofthetotalrawmaterialpotentialandthecurrentutilizationofresiduesfromwoodandagriculture,thesecondstepwasthein-depthanalysisofpelletproductionanditsrelatedsocio-economicaspectsbydirectlycontactingmarketactors.Thereby,amoredetailedandsubtleunderstandingofexpectations,plantsandbarrierswasreached.Thirdly,anoverviewofthelegislativeaspectswasgainedinordertoidentifyspecificlegislation,standardsandrecommendationsrelevanttobiofuels.Thisstudyison-goingandwillbecomplementedbytrendsanalyses,assessmentsofbarriers,marketstrategiesandtheidentificationofnewmarketopportunities(especiallyinEasternEurope).Agri-pelletshighash,NitrogenandChlorinecontentsarehighlyproblematicincombustion；thefirstbecauseofcomplicationsinthecombustionequipment,andthelattertwobecauseoftheirnoxious/corrosiveemission.Althoughlittlecanbedonetoreduceashcontent,adaptedcombustionequipment(withanefficientdisposalofash)canpreventash“sintering”andthusblockingupequipment.Thisphenomenonisbasicallyametingofashintheboiler.Thismoltenashhardensoncoolingandisthenextremelydifficulttoremove.thereareseveralmethodsthatcanbeusedtocombatthisproblem.ingeneralthesehoweverincreasethehardwareand/oroperatingcosts.Theyare:Specialadaptedgrillsthatmaybemovableorconstructedinsuchawayastoquicklytransporttheashawayfromthecombustionarea.Theadditionofquicklimetothestraw.ThiscanraisethesinteringtemperaturebyuptoafewhundreddegreesCelsius.Water-cooledgrillsMixingofstrawwithwood-pelletsorwood-chipsNitrogenandChlorinearefarmoredifficulttoremove,andgenerallyrequirefiltersthatareonlycost-effectiveinlargerinstallations.However,concentrationsoftheseconstituentsvaryhugelyandcanbeinfluencedby(forexample)differentfertilizinghabits.TheChlorine-,Nitrogen-andash-relatedproblemscanbemorecost-effectivelyhandledinlargerinstallations.Asaconsequence,allstraw-basedenergyproduction(almostexclusivelyfromloose-ratherthanpelletisedstraw),takesplaceonamediumtolargescaleinforexample,publicbuildingsordistrictheating.Thecompositionofagri-residueshowevervarieshugelyacrossEurope.Thishasanimpactonthenatureofthetechnicalproblemsfacedinpelletisingandcombusting.Amongtherenewableenergies,biomassplaysanimportantroleItalybecauseofitsavailabilityontheterritory.Infact,oneofthefirstconsequencesoftheKyotoconferencehasbeentheelaborationofthe“NationalProgramfortheRenewableEnergiesfromBiomass”.InItalythereare4nationalmanufacturesofpelletingequipment(Larus,Kemix,BollaretoandLaMeccanica)and2importers/distributors(bothofCPMplants).Moreover,thereisanengineeringsociety,whoseprincipalactivityistostudythenecessityofaparticularfirmthatwantstoinstallaparticularplantthisengineeringsocietyisinassociationwith“LaMeccanica”,thatprovidethepalletizingequipments.Theitalymarketforwoodpelletsissmallbutgrowingsteadily,withaprojectedmarketof100-300thousandtonesin2003.theacceptanceofthisbiomassfuel,isapositivesignalforafutureagri-pelletsmarket.Thereisonlyoneenterprisethat,untilnow,istryingtoproducepelletsfromagriculturalresidues；thismanufacturerhasbeenproducingsinceonly5months,butitwillprobablyproduce12-15,000tonsofagri-pelletsperyear.Theutilizationofpelletsforheatingusesisstillinitsearlystages.Thecivilutilizationhasexperiencedaremarkablegrowthinthelast2-3years,asconfirmedbythegrowingnumberofretailersthatsellpelletsstovesandboilers.Itmustbeunderlinedthatthegreatmajorityofthecitizensdonotknowtheexistenceofthi