crops totally or partially devoted to energy production;

production of thermal and/or electric energy from biomasses;

introducing concessions and incentives to non-food agricultural productions and to bio-fuel production;

where requested, voluntary agreements between the administrations and the financial operators of the agricultural and agro-industrial fields for reaching the goals set in the guidelines.

The agricultural-food and forestry sectors generate a wide variety of products, or byproducts, which can be used for energy production, cooperating with a good 10% to the substitution of the quota of fossil fuels foreseen by the Kyoto Protocol;

In some country the cost of biomass energy is still generally high but ongoing research and improvement of farming techniques and of the machines for harvesting and processing are making the costs increasingly competitive;

Development of the “industrial” role of the farmer within the bio-energy sector, since, having to provide a stable supply of raw materials to the processing plant, he participates advantageously in the productive network and, therefore, in the profits; the Project,
through the appropriate structures, promotes such participation;

The need to deal with the scarcity of raw materials produced;

The possibility of using the farming of herbaceous plants, shrubs and trees for energy production purposes and also for purifying polluted locations and, more broadly, the soil and the waters;

The opportunity to eliminate from the dump circuit several byproducts whose recycling is problematic both for technical and financial reasons, and which may be reused more advantageously for creating energy;

Grouping the various sources into networks defined by specific problems, so as to answer the need for optimizing the interventions, identifying potential inefficiencies or financial wastes within the different stages of the network process that need to be corrected;

Optimal usage of co-produced thermal energy is an essential element for the success of the various initiatives;

The market of heating for buildings and industrial uses (even small-scale), places lignocellulosic biomasses in a highly competitive position versus fossil fuels; currently, based on the prices of the various heating fuels, the cost of the biomass kWh can be twice as low as that of diesel fuel.

at the environmental level:

• mankind's presence on the land and hence its protection from decay and neglect;

• contributing to a 3-4% decrease in emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases within five years.

• recycling renewable energy from portions of residues and waste that cannot be recycled in any other way and reducing the volume to be dumped;

at the socioeconomic level:

• increasing the value of direct and indirect benefits compared to fossil fuels;

• reducing the costs of bio-energetic products so as to be competitive with fossil ones;

• promoting environmental and natural resources awareness.

at the occupational level:

• protecting jobs in strategic areas and creating new ones at different qualification levels;

• creating new professional jobs in the fields of bio-energy and bio-resources utilization.

at the industrial-energy level:

• contributing to a decrease in the use of fossil resources, as foreseen in the European Commission's "White paper";

• developing technical means and services related to producing and converting biomass energy;

at the agricultural and territorial level:

• increasing the space dedicated to primarily energy-oriented crops and supporting farmers' incomes;

• increasing the amount of land dedicated to forestry and improving forestry management techniques aimed at protecting the land, at absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere and at supporting and creating related production activities and jobs.