Ireland’s dependency on imported energy has grown to around 90%, compared with the EU average of 50%. Imported oil remains the dominant energy source and a large part of Ireland’s power generation and industrial production requirements are critically dependent on oil.
Given the acceleration of global warming, escalating oil prices and Ireland’s rising energy demands, it is not surprising that domestic and commercial consumers are searching for less expensive, more secure energy sources. Today, wood-based fuels are coming to the fore.
Ireland has Europe’s best growing climate. For example the annual climatic growing potential of Irish forestry is 10m3/ha compared to 3.9 in Spain or Finland. To date, Ireland has been slow to recognise and develop this potential and the use of biomass for energy production is the lowest in Europe.
Austria, Sweden and Finland currently lead the way in using wood fuel, where entrepreneurs, often groups of local farmers, agri-co-operatives or even individuals have recognised the potential and established a total energy package for local communities and businesses. Offering a one-stop-shop energy approach, where they manage the fuel supply – planting, harvesting, producing and transporting the material – they are also responsible for supplying and maintaining the wood boilers.
This is a model that is now being replicated in Ireland. With about 16,000 farmers involved in farm forestry the network exists and, given the projected increase in forestry from 9% to 17% by 2030 and a corresponding increase in the availability of wood residues, there is considerable potential for procurement of wood fuels from these resources in the future.
Energy generation schemes using wood fuel will range in size from pellet stoves to heat a single room, to automatic wood-fuelled boilers heating homes, public and commercial buildings such as hospitals, schools, hotels and leisure centres.
The wood heating market in Ireland is starting to develop quickly. Grainger Sawmills in West Cork has invested in building Ireland’s first combined heat and power (CHP) plant. The plant uses sawmill residue such as bark and sawdust to produce over 5MW of green energy – 3.5MW of heat to be used on site to dry timber and over 1.8MW of electricity that is sold to the grid – sufficient to meet the average electricity needs of some 1,500 local homes.
Several commercial wood boilers have already been installed, for example at Camphill Community, Co Kilkenny – where a 150kW Fröling Turbomatic wood chip boiler heats the major buildings of the community centre, including the new 9-bedroom community house, an existing 12-bedroom community house, an office building and a separate building containing a community hall, apartment and food processing workshop.
When the state forestry company Coillte decided to re-locate its corporate headquarters to Co Wicklow, it opted for a KWB 100kW boiler that can use either wood pellets or wood chips. Many more installations are planned, including Ireland’s largest wood fuelled installation, a 500kW wood pellet boiler that will shortly be installed at the Inchydoney Island and Spa Hotel in Co Cork.
There are real opportunities for wood processing companies. Investment in wood pellet plants has seen Scandinavian sawmills reporting a 25% increase in profits. They produce pellets from what was previously viewed as a waste stream.
Pellet production
In Northern Ireland, Balcas has invested in an integrated 2.7MWe (megawatt electric) wood-fuelled CHP plant and a wood pellet production at its facility in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh. At 50,000 tonnes a year, the plant will be the largest pellet production facility in the British Isles and one of the largest single plants in Europe.
A secure supply of quality pellets is required to ensure the Irish wood heating market continues to grow and realise its full potential. With a number of other sawmills already at the feasibility stage with regard to pellet production, companies offering wood heating equipment and services can now confidently enter into long-term contracts with business customers.
The use of wood fuel for energy generation is a sustainable industry with potential for considerable expansion. It offers benefits for forest owners and managers, project developers, consumers, local communities and the environment.
Ireland has the potential to develop an indigenous fuel supply from forestry and wood industry waste for domestic, industrial and export markets. Refined fuels such as wood chips, pellets and briquettes (processed sawdust), offer many advantages, being compact, clean, easy to store and having a very high energy content. Forest residues currently left to nature and wood waste from the mechanical forestry industry are resources that can be used for energy generation – in fact almost every sawmill in Ireland could have its own on-site power and pellet plant (CHPP) and reap considerable financial benefits.
In the future we will see many towns in Ireland with CHPP – managed and maintained with local labour and powered by Irish-grown wood, wood pellets and chips.
