ConFor welcomed the scheme, which provides grants to support the supply chain, as well as heat, electricity and combined heat and power installations, but said the February 2 deadline for applications was too tight.
“While it is understood that there are political constraints to funds in this spending round, ConFor has already raised concern over the limited timescale for support, which will effectively rule out many candidates,” said a ConFor statement.
ConFor chief executive David Crichton said the organisation was trying to persuade the Scottish Executive that extra funds and time were required to make the scheme more effective.
“In the meantime, we would like to encourage all those who can possibly take advantage of this funding now, to do so,” he said.
ConFor said it viewed the support scheme, which is open to a range of organisations (from producer groups to businesses), as just the first instalment in “what must be an ongoing programme of support for wood energy until the market becomes established”.
