In 2010 the German Energy Agency GmbH (dena) and the German American Chambers of Commerce (AHK USA) organized the 2nd German American Energy Conference. This year’s conference was themed „Promising Markets for Renewables and Energy Efficiency”. It offered information about current trends and support frameworks within U.S. and EU energy markets and how companies can benefit from them. The event attracted more than 400 participating experts and high level speakers. Within a panel discussion Stephanie Schlegel, Fellow und Coordinator Bioenergy and Agriculture at the Ecologic Institute spoke about opportunities for German biomass companies in the U.S. market and the relevance of sustainability requirements for the further development of transatlantic bioenergy markets.
In recent years both the US and the European Union created strong policy incentives to support bioenergy development, particularly biofuels. Meanwhile many scientific studies have shown that not all feedstocks and bioenergy usage pathways are as climate and environmentally friendly as expected. To address these concerns, sustainability requirements were introduced in the EU and US.
However, the requirements that were developed differ to a great extent. Stephanie Schlegel's input for the bioenergy panel discussed how such incompatible requirements negatively affect biomass producers and biofuel companies who want to conduct business in both the US and EU markets. She also emphazised the importance of developing internationally harmonized standards for the production of biomass. However, companies that anticipate future policy developments may generate a competitive advantage, through focus on efficient conversion technologies such as the generation of combined heat and electricity from sustainable feedstocks such as agricultural, industrial and forest residues.
The conference took place between March 22 and 23 in Berlin.