The subject of wood fuels gives rise to a range of views and perhaps not a little controversy. There are those who enthusiastically welcome the prospect of a new market for wood products, be they small roundwood or sawmill products – chips, sawdust or bark – and others who view the prospect as a potential threat to fibre supplies.
What is the truth of the matter and would there be enough wood to go round? The big question relates to prospects for wood for use in electricity generation, either in co-firing in coal-fired power stations (where wood competes with other biomass), or in stand-alone installations. While there may be estimates of the potential demand for wood from the electricity generating sector, the likely economic usage is not known.
Before anyone gets carried away with any ideas that wood fuels are the universal panacea, we have to take a close look at the important subject of demand – if wood is the preferred material for co-firing at coal fired power stations (and this cannot be taken for granted), how long is the demand going to last and what will influence the duration of demand – government policy, for example?
One should also not overlook smaller scale operations, where wood fuels may be used for heating domestic, commercial or industrial buildings. There are already a number of wood-fuelled installations working satisfactorily, often using locally sourced wood; and there is undoubtedly scope for many more.
There has been much talk about wood pellets – well established on the continent, but not yet in the UK. The construction of a major wood pellet manufacturing facility by Balcas Timber alongside its major sawmill in Enniskillen must tell us something, although, of course, electricity prices in Northern Ireland are much higher than in the rest of the UK.
Just how much wood is out there which could be used for fuel? Most studies have come to the same conclusion – about 1 million tonnes of woody biomass including forestry residues (lop and top etc), small roundwood, sawmill chips, sawdust etc. What the reports do not say is how much of the wood is actually available. There is a difference between theoretical (or biological) availability and economic availability.
When standing timber is being purchased for sawmills, buyers have to consider the markets for all of the products that the log provides. Many people outside the sector have assumed that sawmill chips, sawdust and bark were little more than by-products, with limited value, but nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, investment in modern sawmilling machinery is made on the basis that wood chips are a well defined product, which provides one raw material for the wood-based panel industry. Similarly, the panel sector requires sawdust, as does the agricultural sector for animal bedding. Bark is required by the horticultural and amenity sectors for compost, mulches, play surfaces etc. It is estimated that approximately 2.6 million tonnes of wood chips, sawdust and bark are produced by UK sawmills and other primary processors every year, for which there are ready markets. Viable markets for all of these products are essential to the economic well-being of the sawmilling sector.
What’s in a name?
Terminology is an important issue when describing these products. In the past, they may have been referred to variously as “sawmill residues”, “by-products”, or more recently as “co-products”. However, these terms now have negative connotations associated with waste and the industry more accurately refers to the products by name, or simply as “other sawmill products”.
Industry has placed reliance on the Forestry Commission‘s production forecasts, which have provided sound information for the sector and upon which investment decisions have been taken. However, given the increasing significance of the private timber-growing sector, whose forests and woodlands are approaching maturity, attention will become more focused on this resource. And therein lies a problem: there is an urgent need for a reliable private sector production forecast and a commitment to bring wood to the market.
There is an obvious attraction in talk of the large volumes of wood for fuel in electricity generation, but will it become a reality? No-one knows for sure at the moment. There is undeniably room for increased demand for certain types of woody biomass, but it must not jeopardise established supply chains, so a degree of caution is required, as demand from the established users, such as the panelboard sector (even though it has increased its use of recycled wood fibre), is reliable and continuing.
2005 promises to be an interesting year in terms of the development of the energy market as decisions will probably be made in relation to many of the projects currently on the drawing board. The UK wood supply balance is in a delicate state at the moment and for all sectors to benefit, the balance must be maintained.
