[NEWS] Kainuu feasibility study on AF/mobility (p1)

Kainuu feasibility study on alternative mobility & fuels: a tool to reinforce the Kainuu action plan (part 1)

Promoting the use of alternative fuels and electric vehicles in Kainuu

Overview 

The Regional Council of Kainuu, is project partner 6 of the Interreg Europe project e-MOPOLI. PP6 implemented a feasibility study focusing on optimising alternative mobility development in Kainuu.

The purpose of the feasibility study was to reach insights and make recommendations about optimal options promoting the utilisation of electrical and in general alternative mobility in Kainuu region. Kainuu is at a crossroads in respect to alternative mobility options, since the region is both an alternative energy producer (bio energy) and alternative energy user. This was the main optimisation domain, and the study shed light on current and medium-term options and made concrete recommendations. These concrete recommendations will be taken up by the Kainuu eMOPOLI regional stakeholder group, and further on, they will be integrated into the Kainuu action plan.

Biodiesel, bioethanol, biogas, electricity, hydrogen and synthetic fuel are all good solutions for Kainuu. Biogas has potential limit. Electricity and clean electricity play a remarkable role in the future because electricity, hydrogen and synthetic fuel needs electricity. Synthetic fuel could make Kainuu a forerunner. Alternative fuels are spreading into Kainuu but there are availability problems to solve. Kainuu needs few actions for reaching and maintaining the decarbonization standards like further research projects into biogas, acquirement of electric vehicles through public procurement, ensuring charging and refill stations for alternative fuel cars and action on synthetic fuels. If Kainuu wants to be carbon neutral by 2035, the target demands 1 850 biogas cars, 9 800 electric cars and 270 hydrogen cars in region by 2030. 

The feasibility study researched also how carbon dioxide emissions could be decreased in region. All vehicles from a farm tractor to a club car are observed. Study observes biodiesel, bioethanol, biogas, electricity and hydrogen as alternative fuels. Main focus is on biogas and electricity. The feasibility study mapped the views of Kainuu stakeholders, private people, entrepreneurs, politicians, experts etc. on alternative fuels and vehicles, promoting their use, and environmental benefits and CO2 emissions.

Recommendations

Kainuu should focus on alternative fuels as follows :

(1) BIOGAS: starting biogas project(s)

• founding a biogas station or a natural gas station
• collecting farm gas
• updating the investigation of the biogas plant made in 2015

(2) ELECTRICITY

• supporting tourist entrepreneurs to install charging points by local projects
• getting public/semi-public institutions and municipalities to buy electric cars

(3) SYNTHETIC FUEL

• starting the project of synthetic fuel (Q Power Oy / CRI)

The alternative fuels strategy for Kainuu appears to be inextricably linked to alternative energy strategy as a whole because Kainuu is both end user and also supplier of alternative energy. An optimum strategy for reaching and maintaining the decarbonization standards appears to be a combination of

• further research into biogas
• acquirement of electric vehicles through public procurement
• ensuring charging and refill stations for alternative fuel cars, especially the through traffic
• action on synthetic fuels.

The study was conducted from December 2019 to March 2020. The expert carrying out the feasibility study was the University of Oulu, Measurement technology research unit (MITY) in Kainuu. 

Overall situation of alternative fuels in Kainuu 2020 

There are over 65 000 vehicles from a light club car to a heavy dumper in Kainuu and most of them use petrol or diesel fuel as driving power. There are over 80 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), 40 ethanol vehicles and 30 electric vehicles in region. That is 0,23 % of vehicles in Kainuu. Most of PHEV and ethanol vehicles are cars and 10 of electric vehicles are electric cars. Heavy vehicle which uses alternative fuels are not found. There is one bioethanol station in Kajaani and 16 electric car charging points in five municipalities in Kainuu, but not any biogas station. For comparison, Kainuu would be the forerunner if there were over 150 biogas cars and over 400 electric cars (included plug-in hybrids) in Kainuu. The next climate strategy of Kainuu is preparing in 2020.

Kainuu has a general target to decrease 25 % greenhouse gas emissions from 2009 to 2020 and the emissions caused by traffic in Kainuu are expected to decrease approximately 17 000 tons CO2 eq from 2009 to year 2020. 17 000 tons CO2 eq is ~7,7 % of traffic emissions in Kainuu in 2009 and it means 210 kg CO2 eq per person. Kainuu has only reached the fraction of 17 000 tons CO2 eq.

(read part 2 here)