| Summary: | Power line corridors currently occupy a significant portion of land in Sweden, specifically 160 400 hectares. Within these corridors, biomass grows and requires periodic clearing to maintain the safety of the power grid. For now, the majority of biomass are left on-site to decay naturally. Utilizing this biomass with profitability in mind to take care of these resources as biofuel has historically been low to nonexistent. However, the fuel-prices are now high and the demand for fossil-free raw materials are increasing. That makes it interesting to examine the parameters affecting profitability utilizing biomass from power line corridors. The objective of this project was to analyze the factors that affects the final cost of biomass utilization from power line corridors in northern Sweden, with 130 kV transmission lines in focus. That includes identifying parameters that must be considered and summarizing previous studies on harvesting small-diameter trees. Since many different parties are involved in this kind of project, it’s important to assess the current rights and condition between them and examine the interest of putting this process into practice. The goal of the study was to determine whether utilizing biomass from power line corridors would be a worthwhile investment in northern Sweden. This study is primarily a case study, involving a thorough review of previous studies on harvesting small-diameter trees and the process that follows. Extensive email correspondence and interviews have been conducted with individuals involved in different fields, including electricity grid companies, forest owners and personnel working for heating power plants. This with the intent to gather thoughts and different perspectives of the project. The main conclusion drawn from this study is that determining the profitability of biomass harvesting and utilization from power line corridors in northern Sweden is challenging. The potential of biomass utilization from power line corridors is higher in southern Sweden, driven by ...
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