Bioenergy development in Sweden—frameworks for success

Abstract

Sweden has gone through a transition substituting oil by bioenergy, in particular in the district heating and CHP sector. This paper focusses on the bioenergy-to-grid value chains and the institutional frameworks that have been essential for the development: Policy instruments addressing the competitive conditions of bioenergy-to-grid, multilevel governance enabling the entrepreneurship of local bioenergy communities and an institutional framework for controlling sustainability risks. We identify the policy instruments changing the competition conditions for bioenergy-to-grid and classify them according to the value chain links they address. We further asses the sustainability risks associated with bioenergy-to-grid value chains. We find that they have been manageable in Sweden, although the institutional framework is not flawless. We find that some degree of bottom-up governance has been essential in the multilevel governance. Empirically, the study is based on local examples from Jämtland and Västernorrland counties, government databases and legislative and planning documents.