In Jämtland County, a sparely populated and densely wooded are in central Sweden, more than 60% of all heat and power is derived from renewable sources. The county’s aim is to become a 100% non-fossil fuel region by 2015. This ambitious target can be reached this thanks to immense natural resources, notably woods and forests covering 99% of the Jämtland’s territory and being an extraordinary source of biomass.

Jämtland country has made an impressive progress in using the biomass for heating and power generation. In its only city Östersund, the combined heat and power plant fuelled with biomass supplies 25 000 households. Similar small-scale clean heating solutions are applied in villages across Jämtland. The County’s Energy Agency makes regular presentations about the benefits of bio-fuels in Jämtland’s 8 municipalities. And the efforts are paying off – consumers convert overwhelmingly to alternative heating mostly derived biomass. Since 1997 the use of heating oil has decreased by 40%.
The share its biomass experience with other European regions, Jämtland County joined the Sustainable Energy Europe, an EU campaign to raise the awareness and promote the clean energy. In the framework of this campaign, an Annual Conference held in Brussels on 28-29 November 2005 will bring together the national and European decision makers and high level participants from the spheres of industry, technology, business, policy making and research to discuss the most recent development in the use of the clean energy in Europe.