Increasing quantities of timber are coming on stream in Scotland but, with a static or dropping demand for sawmill co-products, mills face the problem of a lack of paying markets for these materials. One sawmiller recently said mills were reaching restrictions in their production of sawn wood because they could not dispose of co-products.

A solution could be the bio-energy market, a great success in Sweden but so far embryonic in the UK.

An initiative recently launched in Scotland encourages the country to follow the Swedish example and a research booklet Renewable energy from wood – An opportunity for Scotland, has been circulated among members of the Scottish parliament.

It highlights how wood fuel can help fulfil international obligations on climate change, create jobs and facilitate forest management. Without the creation of new markets for chips and pellets, it says existing businesses could be put at risk.

Scotland’s softwood mills produce, on average, about 55 tonnes of sawn wood for every 100 tonnes of unprocessed timber, which is usually sent to the chipboard and fibreboard industries.

Modern boiler technology can cope with fuel made from sawmill residue, such as sawdust, chips and bark, which is usually turned into briquettes before burning. Some mills already use such boilers for space heating.

Public buildings

Suggested new applications for biofuel include heating hospitals, sports halls and government buildings. In Sweden, central heating and domestic hot water systems at many schools now use wood briquettes . In fact the Swedes are now generating bio-energy equivalent to over a third of the UK’s electricity demands.

Much of the Swedish impetus has been driven by government commitments to reducing both CO2 and sulphur emissions which, together with tax incentives, mean it is roughly 50% cheaper to produce heat from wood than oil.

This favourable political environment does not yet exist in the UK but government intervention, via grants and tax allowances, is seen as crucial. The prime minister announced £100m for UK renewable energy in 2001, but access to funding is not easily achieved.

The study calls for more renewable energy to be used for pure heating purposes rather than the current emphasis on electricity production.

&#8220Within the UK sawmilling sector, most people believe there is significant potential in biofuel, whether it’s in the form of the small roundwood market or sawmill co-products”

David Sulman, executive director of the UK Forest Products Association

Raymond Henderson, of property consultant Bidwells who put the booklet together with AP Forestry AB of Sweden, admits a lot depends on pricing – it has to be worthwhile for sawmills.

He said: “If government was committed and put things in place properly to encourage heat energy rather than think only about electricity then it would take off.

“One of the problems here is the sawmills are very limited in the amount of co-product they can get rid off because there are no expanding markets. If you do not have those markets then the additional co-products coming out of increased production could end up on the tip.”

David Sulman, executive director of the UK Forest Products Association, said: “Within the UK sawmilling sector, most people believe there is significant potential in biofuel, whether it’s in the form of the small roundwood market or sawmill co-products.

Price drop

“At the moment co-products are finding a home but we have seen a dramatic drop in prices. Companies here are hopeful that biofuels will take off but there has been more talk than action.”

He said further falls in co-product prices could call the economics of sawmilling into question.

Another study, led by Future Energy Solutions, working with the Forestry Contracting Association and a Danish company, is under way to assess the potential for a wood pellet manufacturing plant in Scotland. It will also examine sawdust and wood shaving resources and investigate European markets to determine acceptable price and quality.

Workshop

An industry workshop will be held in Glasgow by Scottish Enterprise on February 7. Meanwhile, a publication called Woodfuel Opportunities: renewable energy for Scotland has been published by the Scottish Forest Industries Cluster, summarising issues raised at a wood fuel seminar earlier this year.