Doubling the share of
renewable energy in Europe by 2020 is high on the EU agenda, when green power
should account for 20% of the region's total energy consumption. Under this
plan, the demand for wood will increase. Wood and wood waste has always played a
crucial role in Europe, covering about 50% of renewable power sources. So the
big question is: Will there be enough wood to meet Europe's demand? The EUWOOD
('Real potential for changes in growth and use of EU forests') project, backed
by the Directorate-General for Energy of the European Commission (DG Energy),
rose to the challenge, providing new insight into the wood biomass supply.
Changes have been
affecting the global forest products market since 2000. Compared to our
ancestors who used wood to heat their homes, we are witnessing a major overhaul
as wood energy generation finds a niche in industry. For example, industry uses
wood as raw material for the production of chemical goods. Hence, assessing
economic and forest policy decisions is becoming more difficult because of the
increasingly complex nature of the forest products market.
In light of this, the
EUWOOD partners used the 'Wood Resource Balance' tool to compare the demand for
wood for energy and goods with the potential supply of wood from forests and
others sources in the EU-27. According to their findings, a rise in the supply
of woody biomass from Europe-based forests can top the existing level of
resource use if EU officials implement a comprehensive strategy and make quick
and radical political decisions.
The EUWOOD consortium
says the theoretical biomass potential from EU forests amounted to almost 1.3
billion cubic metres for 2010. Specifically, the stem wood made up around 50% of
this potential, with the remaining half made up of logging residues, stumps and
woody biomass from early thinnings in young forests. But this potential dropped
to some 750 million cubic metres, with the loss triggered by environmental,
technical and social constraints. Biomass from early thinnings, stumps and
residues feel the biggest impact.
An environmental
constraint, for instance, is a decrease of biomass harvesting on poor sites to
hinder the loss of nutrients. A technical constraint may be soil bearing
capacity that restricts harvesting on soft soils, while a social constraint is
related to how the availability of biomass varies due to changes in forest
ownership structure. It should be noted that no full impact assessment of
intensified harvesting was performed.
EUWOOD used
mobilisation scenarios to assess the potential of woody biomass. They focused,
for example, on how society views the use of wood. On the one hand, woody
biomass potential can swell to 898 million cubic metres in 2030 if Europeans
place strong emphasis on using wood for energy generation and other uses. On the
other hand, the potential could shrink to 625 million cubic metres if possible
negative environmental effects of stronger wood use are deemed crucial.
Economical constraints, such as procurement costs, could result in a bigger
potential loss as well.
The findings of a
case study in the Finnish region of North Karelia demonstrate clearly that the
biomass potential could shrink by as much as 28% if the paying ability of a user
of logging residues drops by 4%.
EUWOOD suggests that
supply should get a boost - from both forests and other sources - to help Europe
meet the growing demand. However, the demand for wood could shrink if Europeans
bolster energy efficiency and make other wood-based renewable energy sources
available.