Why Wood Heat?

Wood has been burnt to cook our food, heat our buildings and power our industries for longer than any other fuel. But over the last few hundred years many of us have ceased to use it, relying instead on fossil fuels like coal, oil or gas. Now, with concern rising over the impact of burning fossil fuels on our climate, the tide is turning again as we seek clean and renewable alternatives to the fossil fuels we now rely on so heavily.

Wood, sustainably produced, is a renewable carbon fuel that can replace much of our current use of fossil fuels, especially to provide heat for homes, commerce and industry. Well designed, modern wood burning heating systems provide cost effective and environmentally sound warmth from locally produced fuel.

Combatting global climate change

Wood is a renewable source of energy because the carbon dioxide (C02) emitted when wood fuels are converted to energy has been taken out of the atmosphere by a growing plant; wood as a fuel is Carbon Neutraf Even allowing for emissions of C02 in planting, harvesting, processing and transporting the fuel, replacing fossil fuel with woodfuel will typically reduce net C02 emissions by over 90%.

A sustainably managed woodland or energy crop follows the natural carbon cycle. On balance wood is never removed faster than it is added by new growth. Therefore the CO2 released when the woodfuel is burnt is never more than the C02 being taken up by new growth.

All renewable power currently involves some fossil C02 emissions in the manufacture, installation and servicing of plant. Wood energy also involves some emissions in the harvesting and transport of the fuel. However, wood energy still results in far lower emissions of CO2 than using fossil fuel energy.

Supporting and creating jobs

Wood energy developments create new employment opportunities in manufacturing, construction, plant operation and servicing and in fuel supply. Woodfuel production offers potential re-employment to people made redundant by the fossil fuel industries, coal especially.

Rural jobs are created and secured in woodfuel harvesting, transport and processing, maintaining on-farm employment during the winter when most energy crop management activities take place. The entry of agriculture into the renewable energy sector is an exciting prospect offering farmers and foresters a sustainable market that is growing and likely to continue expanding for decades to come with long term price stability.

Strengthening rural economies

Locally grown woodfuel serving local energy markets provides farmers and foresters with substantial new growth markets and recycles fuel and energy revenues into the local economy. Money spent on fossil fuels is of little value to local, rural economies with the great majority of revenue going to remote multinationals and shareholders. Wood heating uses locally produced fuels to supply local energy markets, keeping money in local rural economies.

Wood, a renewable resource

Carbon dioxide (C02) is taken from the atmosphere and used by plants to grow, when these plants die and decay or are burnt this C02 is released back in to the atmosphere.

Planting trees does soak up and store a certain amount of carbon, but only a limited amount and only for a limited time. Planting trees and crops and harvesting them for biomass fuels still provides a standing store of carbon but also directly reduces fossil fuel use. Wood energy therefore provides both carbon storage and a real longÄterm alternative to the use of fossil fuels.

Enhancing the rural environment

Bringing derelict woodland back into production and the cultivation of low input energy crops creates much improved wildlife habitats and helps to conserve and promote biodiversity.

Short rotation coppice, the energy crop closest to market realisation, has substantial biodiversity and habitat improvement benefits and has been endorsed by the major environmental NGO's such as Friends of the Earth and the RSPB. The crop favours small mammals and birds providing both shelter and food from the abundant insect life within the crop. Industry good practice guidance emphasises the importance of sensitively integrating energy crops into the wider landscape to provide both wildlife and visual amenity benefits.

Recycling resources

Recovered wood and other biomass 'wastes' can be used to manufacture biofuel pellets to replace fossil fuels in domestic, commercial and industrial boilers. Cutting the need for landfill new sites will reduce habitat and amenity damage to our countryside. Decreasing the volume of organic material put into landfills will reduce fugitive methane (a powerful Greenhouse Gas) emissions.