Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
former East Germany. Locations in the five new states are also more
competitive due to lower wages and construction costs.
Due to high transportation costs, relatively low land prices and low
construction costs, locations in the rural areas of the five new states are
most competitive for power and heating stations. However, the basic
question, if generating energy from hemp is efficient at all, has not yet
been answered.
There are methods for using hemp as an energy source. Hemp can
be used exclusively to generate energy or in a two stage process. First, the
bast fibres are extracted from the stem and then the rest of the plant can be
used as a waste product for generating heat or electricity. But the value of
the shives is mainly determined by alternative energy sources. Comparing
hemp with fossil fuels must consider the capital and transportation costs as
well as commodity price. Comparing hemp with other renewable energy
sources, the commitment costs of hemp have to be compared with the
commitment costs of the most favorable alternative energy source.
Currently, the production of hemp bast fiber is not competitive
with alternative fiber production at a volume exceeding the demand of a
small niche market (Böcker, 1997; Gorn and Schumacher, 1997). A niche
market volume for bast fiber does not meet the requirements necessary in
the case of using hemp as an energy source. Consequently, only the sole
use of hemp for generating energy is possible.
This process mainly competes with wood chips, a product which
has similar characteristics with regard to the burning process. Table 9.2
shows that hemp cannot compete with wood chips. Hemp production starts,
despite high subsidies, by about 70-80 DM per ton hemp straw, assuming a
yield of 8 tons per hectare. Converting this quantity to dry weight and
adding transportation costs leads to a cost of probably 200 DM per ton.
Thus, the competitiveness of hemp is comparable with fast growing
plantations (for example polars) which itself cannot compete with oil and
gas at current prices. Therefore, it is not expected that the cultivation of
hemp for energy production have a future in Germany.
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