Costs and revenues of energy grass production on marginal agricultural land in Sweden

This study analyzed the costs and revenues when energy grass fuels are produced on marginal agricultural land. Small and irregular fields, headlands, border strips and fields with less fertile soils were included, all located in the municipalities of Svalöv, Ronneby, Vingåker and Skellefteå, representing different cultivation conditions in Sweden. The grasses studied were reed canary grass (RCG) and ley, which were to be used as a solid fuel and as a biogas substrate, respectively. It was concluded that the production costs generally were lower for energy grass in comparison to spring barley. The production costs were lowest in Svalöv and highest in Skellefteå. All studied crops had a negative economic gain. Fallow had a much higher competitiveness in comparison to energy grasses for all locations. RCG as a solid fuel in boilers generally had a better competitivenss than ley for biogas.