City-Level Decoupling-Case Studies

CITY-LEVEL DECOUPLING: URBAN RESOURCE FLOWS AND THE GOVERNANCE OF INFRASTRUCTURE TRANSITIONS

The source of feedstock was then expanded to include waste from the local slaughterhouse owned by Scan-Farmek. The Federation of Swedish Farmers (LRF) also came on board to supply feedstock in the form of crop residues and manure. 289 LRF agreed to purchase the digested residue (a by- product of the methane manufacturing process) for use as a valuable fertilizer. 290 To solidify their co-operation, the three stakeholders started an associated company with shared ownership called Linköping Biogas AB (now Svensk Biogas) in 1995. The company received government funding to build a € 140,000 (US$183,000) methane production facility, completed in 1996. 291 The plant can treat 100,000 t of waste per year, and produces 4.7 million m 3 of upgraded biogas per year. 292 The newness of the biogas concept made it too risky for the city to shoulder the financial and intellectual burden alone, so additional funding and expertise came from the municipality of Linköping, the county, the regional bus authority, LITA and TVAB. 293 The overhaul of the city’s public transport system began in earnest in 1997, when 27 buses were replaced. 294 In 2001, the sources of feedstock were again expanded to include waste from local restaurants. By 2002, all buses in the fleet were bio-methane driven, and in 2005 the world’s first biogas train became operational in Linköping. 295 The transition from a fossil-fuel driven public transport system to one powered by biogas has improved more than just air quality in the city. 296 The use of biogas for fuel produces very few hazardous emissions and greenhouse gases. 297 The biogas from the plant replaces about 5.5 million litres of petrol and diesel each year, decreasing the need to import fossil fuels substantially. 298 Carbon dioxide emissions have been reduced by more than 9,000 t per year since 2002, lessening the city’s contribution to global warming. 299 The production of biogas turns waste products into a valuable resource, thereby reducing the need for environmentally-destructive landfills and waste incinerators, and creating circular rather than linear resource flows through the city. 300 Specifically, the project has cut the volume of waste sent for incineration in Linköping by 3,422 t annually. 301 A by-product of the biogas processis biological fertiliser, which is purchased by the farmers' association to replace energy-intensive, fossil- fuel based fertilisers. Because bio-fertilisers are made from waste products, nutrients such as phosphorus are able to cycle through the economy, returning to nourish farmlands rather than accumulating in toxic concentrations at landfills. 302 The project has also contributed positively to the city’s economy. Including local farmers in the production of biogas and sale of bio-fertilisers has increased their competitiveness and kept financial flows within the local economy. 303 Impact on resource flows in Linköping

Factors aiding and limiting success

It would not have been possible to implement such a novel project if it hadn't received strong political support. 304 Long-term co-operation between the city, farmers' association, Linköping University, transit authorities, and other actors has arguably been the most significant factor contributing to success. 305 Stakeholders were involved early on in the project, and were allowed to make important

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