REGIONAL FEASIBILITY OF BIOMASS-BASED SMALL-SCALE CHP PRODUCTION

The aim of this paper was to find out how small-scale biomass combined heat and power (CHP) production is seen in Finnish rural areas and especially in farm enterprises. Increased energy bills have hastened the willingness to evaluate existing methods to supply heat and power. The study is based on interviews and a questionnaire directed to potential small-scale energy producers in the rural area of South Savo, Finland. The study shows the current operation environment in Finland and what kind of challenges the farmers have when they plan to modernize their energy production. The small-scale CHP production has been widely utilized in Central Europe, but in Finland there are about ten units in operation. It seems that investing on CHP technology in Finnish farms can be economic but in many cases, producers need still more support, such as feed-in tariff system.