The aim of the study presented is to report potentials and costs for alternative fuels, primarily those manufactured from biomass. Information has been gathered from literature and to some extent through telephone inquiries. The total energy potential in the raw material from forests is 258 TWh/year. At best, 112 TWh/year could be used for energy. Farming could contribute 51-59 TWh/year in the long term. Waste and peat could contribute a further 30 TWh. These figures apply to the thermal value in the raw material before transformation into fuel. Eigthy TWh methanol or 40 TWh ethanol + 50 TWh solid fuel could be manufactured from the raw material from farming and forestry. Biogas from purifying plants and Biogas from purifying plants and rapeseed oil could each give a few TWh per year. Production costs are considerably lower for fossil fuels than for biobased fuels. Petrol costs USD 0.019-0.026/kWh without tax, diesel approximately USD 0.016/kWh and methanol from biomass is calculated to cost USD 0.059-0.065/kWh. For ethanol from biomass, calculations differ greatly from USD 0.036-0.108/kWh. The alternatives that seem to be most important are alcohol, electricity and as a niche fuel biogas. When choosing an alternative, the influence on the environment from the alternative fuels should be taken into account as it varies considerably. (A)
Abstract