Maize deserts in Schleswig-Holstein? The new EEG and the land requirement of different biogas substrates (in German)

Maize cultivation has been increasing considerably over the last years in Germany. This trend is mainly caused by the support of biogas production by the German Renewable Energy Source Act (EEG). While overall benefits are seen in terms of climate protection and substitution of fossil fuels, biogas production also has the potential to create negative environmental effects given the maize production in monocultures. Taking the state of Schleswig-Holstein as an example, Ruth Delzeit, Mareike Lange und Annemarie Brunsch compare land requirements of different biogas plant types and show that also under the current amendment of the EEG which comes into force in January 2012 maize is the favourable input.