Proceedings World Bioenergy 2010

consortiums of people) do not have as extensive role as
they do in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Municipalities
are local administrative units and they even have a right
to collect taxes. They have officials and also politically
chosen council and municipal executive board.
Municipalities are mainly administrative organs but they
also do some financing. They can also be customers.
A special feature in Finland is also the existence of
regional development companies. These are independent
bodies financed by various municipalities. Their target
groups are both starting and existing companies in the
region. They do not give any direct funding to the
enterprises but they are advising them and constructing
networks for them. The advisory service is mostly free
for starting enterprises. Existing enterprises will be
provided with valuable advisory services in return for
network fees.
There are various interest groups in the regions. The
role of the interest group like a lobbying group appears to
be very important in every country. They have a strong
influence on decision making at all levels.
Influencing factors outside the four main bodies can
be identified as media, values, legislation, public opinion,
research evidence, global situation and not least the
culture.
3 BARRIERS AND NEED OF SUPPORT
EXPERIENCED BY ENERGY OPERATORS IN
SMALL COMMUNITIES
Diverse energy operators in Northern Periphery area
(Finland, Sweden, Faroe Islands, Iceland, Scotland and
Northern Ireland) were interviewed. The interviews took
place after the operator had made a fairly big investment
in renewable energy systems. Part of the questions
covered experienced barriers (Table I) and some of them
covered various support needs (Table II).
Table I: Barriers experienced by energy operators
Faroe
Islands
Finland
Iceland
Northern
Ireland
Scotland
Sweden
Level of commitment
Globalized financial policy
Knowledge on legal and contractual
questions
Attitudes of some of the authorities and
advisory organisations
Access to best practice examples
Lack of similar cases in grant decisions
Fluctuating level on subsidies
Dependence on national policy (feed-in
tariffs etc.)
Piloting the technology
No advisory organisations existing
Cheaper ways to produce energy exists
(geothermal, hydropower)
Funding application bureaucracy
Grant money payment afterwards
No flexibility in financing
Lack of renewable energy awareness
amongst staff members
Attitudinal approach, amount of ambition
Access to best practice examples for, and
knowledge of funding programmes in small
and very small communities and villages.
The remarkable barriers (Table I) in the researched
cases were lack of know-how, attitudes with advisory
organizations and authorities and amount of bureaucracy
in all stages before and during the investments. In some
cases the investors had to operate as pioneers. Last but
not least, difficulties in financing were experienced as
significant barriers.
Table II: Need of support experienced by energy
operators
Faroe Islands Updated advisory services (legal and
contractual questions)
Finland Training in technology maintenance
Centralized advisory services
Holistic and objective advisory on
investment and technologies
Iceland Lack of development context for
bioenergy
Northern
Ireland
Holistic and objective advisory on
investment and technologies
Training in technologies
Scotland Real life experiences of advisors
(legislation, regulations)
Sweden Increased proactive advisory services
aimed at small and very small
communities and villages.
The operators would have needed the support of
centralized and comprehensive advisory services (an
advisory organization which understand the operational
environment as a whole) (Table II). Thus operators
needed more objectivity and independency from advisory
organizations. There were also lack of skills and knowhow,
so training needs were obvious.
4 FACTORS IN DECISION-MAKING IN FINNISH
MUNICIPALITIES
Savikko [1] has found in her research some
significant barriers and drivers in policymaking around
municipalities in Finland. The research was carried out
through an internet questionnaire in two stages among the
municipalities of Finland.
An interesting finding was the gap between strategic
and operative actions in municipalities’ climate policy.
This gab can form a significant barrier for decision
making. It can be explained by economical situation in
municipalities, old customary ways of action and the lack
of time. The public discussion in media on biofuels was
not a barrier.
The results also indicate several drivers for municipal
decision-making, such as municipal energy efficiency
agreements or energy programmes. Those help
municipalities in renovating their energy systems into
renewables. Also the attitudes of municipal leaders and
public discussion can be significant drivers.
Preliminary results from a survey responded by
decision-makers in North Karelia, Finland, in 2009
supported the findings of Savikko’s research [1]. The
decision-makers (participants of a seminar) were among
other issues asked to point out the three most significant
factors which would affect the decision-making in energy
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