La biomasse, activité alternative au développement des zones rurales

5- Obstacles with the development of the renewable ones

a) Obstacles with the production

Whatever the renewable source of energy considered, there are obstacles of a structural nature to the development. The economic and social system was conceived and developed in a centralized way goshawks of conventional energies, like coal, oil, the natural gas and the nuclear power, and especially goshawks of the electric production.

But the most important problem is of a financial nature. Certain renewable energies need starting investment important, like coal, oil and the nuclear power profited from it before. The green Book of the Commission^41(*) suggests one of the possibilities of financing of the renewable ones. The most advantageous sources of energy, the nuclear power, oil, the gas, could be subjected to a form of contribution to the development of renewable energies. This contribution could be a tax which would finance funds regional or national for the starting investments necessary.

Lastly, the problem of the regulations also slows down the development of renewable energies. It is a question of trying to harmonize the payments of town planning and occupation of the grounds in order to give the priority to the production of renewable. It is rather paradoxical to note that at the beginning of the development of the nuclear power, the populations had not been able to make opposition to the installation of a nuclear engine whereas today they are able to block the development of the installations for the renewable ones.

Moreover, contrary to the majority of renewable energies, the biomass is characterized by high costs of exploitation and an important fuel consumption. The supply fuel is thus crucial to make profitable the projects. The distance with the place of use and the reliability of the provisioning are important parameters. The type of selected fuel can also play a great part, just as the technology implemented and the characteristics of the territory of the projects.

The economic viability of the projects exploiting the biomass clearly improved in many countries during last years ; countries like Austria and Denmark make a considerable use of it since years.

The risks associated with the exploitation with the biomass relate to the transport of fuel and waste, the variations heating of fuel, the storage of this one, the failure of a supplier (generally a farmer), the diseases or the imponderable climatic ones.

b) Obstacles with the use

In the European Union, the share of the biocarburants is still weak, it amounts to 0,15% of the overall consumption of combustible mineral oils in 1998. The principal obstacle with their use is the differential of price with the fossil fuel which varies for the moment of 1,5, for the diesel bio, to 4 for the products net of tax. Within the framework of the objective of doubling on behalf of renewable energies for 2010, the Commission evaluated in its White Paper of 1997 on the renewable sources of energies^42(*), the contribution of the bioénergie to 7% of the overall consumption from here 2010. It was then stressed that such an increase could take place only if the following conditions were met :

· the Member States should be committed in a firm way achieving the goal ambitious and realistic White Paper for the year 2010, is 7% of the biocarburants and to lay down an objective of 20% per 2020 for the whole of the fuels of substitution

· the difference between the prices of the biocarburants and those of the competing products should be reduced by measurements which, initially, could be of a tax nature

· the oil companies should be committed rather facilitating their distribution on a large scale within the framework of voluntary agreements than in that of Community regulation

· research in this field should be intensified

* ⁴¹ Deliver green  for a Community strategy, «  Energy for the future  : renewable sources of energy  », European Commission

* ⁴² COM (97) 599 of November 26, 1997, «  Energy for the future  : renewable sources of energy  »- White Paper establishing a strategy and a Community action plan, European Commission