Prospects for sustainable bioenergy production in selected former communist countries

Abstract The renewed interest in biomass-derived energy, which was the main source of heat and power until the industrial revolution and still contributes a significant portion to energy consumption in the developing world, is based on the premises that bioenergy can serve to reduce dependence on foreign energy supplies, boost and reduce the volatility of farmers’ incomes, develop a sustainable renewable energy basis, and cut greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Growing urgency to address these problems and the European Union's global leadership role motivate the baseline assessment of the potential for sustainable bioenergy production in the most recent two EU member states (Bulgaria and Romania) and the former Soviet republics in Central Asia and the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) by reviewing the literature and drawing on available data. The paper integrates the monitoring and assessment of ecological and environmental indicators with management practices, and shows that there is still a lack of knowledge and approaches at this nexus. The main factors to be considered by the countries included in our study are: the type of energy carrier, the transportation and production processes, as well as the long-term environmental impacts associated with intensive biomass production. Specifically, the baseline assessment is using typical indicators to describe bioenergy carriers and their production and consumption in thermal or mass units as well as in percentage shares of total renewable energy produced or consumed. Our findings indicate that the potential for developing sustainable bioenergy production is generally small but with considerable cross-country variation. Only Bulgaria, Romania, and Kazakhstan are endowed with the necessary natural, climatic, and economic conditions to develop sustainable biomass productions and markets.