Sweden exports good ethanol and bad import – Sveriges Radio

– It’s only small factories coming to. This in turn is because it is very uncertain investment conditions for those who want to invest, says Gustav Melin, President of the Swedish Bioenergy Association, Svebio.

Last year, the Biofuels corresponding to 14 000 Gigawatthours in Sweden. Of them had barely 3000 made from Swedish raw materials from the forest and fields.

Five years ago used 6000 GWh, of which 2000 of Swedish raw materials.

The percentage has diminished from a third to just over a fifth.

But while Sweden importing raw materials for ethanol or finished ethanol, so exporting producers that Lantmännen Agroetanol more than half of its production to Germany.

– There are various policy instruments in these countries, says Bengt Olof Johansson, Managing Director of Lantmännen Agroetanol. In Sweden promotes biofuels to have a tax reduction, while in Germany has a unique system that puts demands on those that sell fuel, so that they will reduce the greenhouse gas effect. Sweden has the ethanol in Europe by far the lowest greenhouse effect, which means that our ethanol has become very attractive in Germany to enable them to reach their goals.

But had not the low emission level s ethanol yields needed in Sweden too?

– well, it had helped Sweden to further improve their emission targets, of course. But there is no incentive somewhere in the Swedish system because the subsidy applies equally to the poor ethanol as for the good ethanol.

So we are exporting fine ethanol and importing less ethanol?

– Right.

Even Gustav Melin on Svebio want policy instruments sharpened to get away from fossil fuels and towards more biofuels. But he would like to see Sweden continues with its carbon tax, which the EU said no to.

– This should be up at Prime Minister level and that bothered properly so that we may use the carbon tax, says Gustav Melin. We have been testing the methodology and we have seen that it really is the best way forward to reduce climate emissions efficiently, at low cost and in a timely manner.

Birgitta Johansson
birgitta .johansson @ sverigesradio.se