FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 1 5EURES Training June 2006, Joensuu, Finland Estimation of Forest Fuel Potential Lauri Sikanen & Timo Tahvanainen Finnish Forest Research Institute Joensuu

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 2 Aim of the lecture To describe approaches of estimating forest energy resources and availability AND To take a look to the influence of laws, regulations and subsidies to forest energy procurement

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 3 Forest Biomass Energy Forest Recycled wood Primary residues Secondary residues Forest Residues Logging residues Residues from first and intermediate thinnings Stumps Industrial Residues Bark Sawdust Shavings and chips Endings and cross-cut ends Black liquor Short Rotation Forestry Used wood from Construction Demolition Wooden Packages Roundwood for energy Traditional firewood Wood-based fuels Definition of forest fuel

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 4 FUELS Small scale users: Farms, private houses etc. 40 – 500 kW

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 5 FUELS Medium scale users: Municipality size 0.5 – 20 MW

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE FUELS Total use of wood fuels GWh/a Forest residues m 3 = 300 GWh/a Large scale users: City size Large scale users: City size for example: Alholmens Kraft The biggest biofuel energy plant in the world MW combined heat and power

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 7 Boiler size Quality requirement Quality as restriction

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 8 Proportion of solids in uncompacted logging residues and tree-sections, wood chips and conventional pulpwood. All loads have the same solid content. (After Nilsson 1983). Transportation of woodfuel fractions

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 9 Small diameter trees from early thinnings - Harvesting costs are high - Cost difference to logging residue chips is about €/m³ - Resources difficult to locate, measure and get to market - Integration with roundwood harvesting is weak Logging residues and stumps from final fellings - A side product of final cuttings - Accumulation easy to estimate and locate - Integration with roundwood harvesting is great - Harvesting costs are quite low Rounwood from final fellings - Effective operations - Traditions exist - Good quality chips (Industrial residues) (Energy wood plantations) The main sources of forest fuels

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 10 Parts of the tree and their share of dry mass H= hardwoods C=conifers Industrial roundwood sawlog and pulpwood Unmerchantable stem top Crown Stump Roots Branches H 14% C 18% Foliage H 7% C 3% C&H Whole stem 65% H&C 14% (Young et al. 1964)

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 11 Information sources Availability of forest energy and industrial roundwood can be estimated by the same methods. Forest energy should be considered as a ”new timber assortment” Forest statistics Harvesting databases of forest companies Forest inventories Aerial fotography Satellite imagery

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 12 Example 1. Availability of harvesting residues. Statistics of all final cuttings made in one year on the certain area (should be sustainable in long term) Site characteristics Accumulation of industrial roundwood by species Forwarding distance Accumulation of energy fractions are estimated according to tree characteristics (see slide Availability 3) Possible restrictions considered Minimum accumulation Maximum forwarding distance Maximum transporting distance Accumulatoin and transporting costs are estimated

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 13 Spruce stand, final cutting Energy accumulation > 100 m 3 /ha Example 1. Availability of harvesting residues.

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 14 All annual final cuttings in Joensuu surroundings Availability polygons constructed from the similar material for Vaasa surroundings Example 1. Availability of harvesting residues.

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 15 Example 2. Estimation of the forest energy potential of young forests in Finland Methods 1/2 Municipal level estimates of shares of development classes 3,4 and 5 Simulation of thinning cuttings Expansion factor area represented by each sample plot in each municipality Crown-masses by Hakkila’s (1991) models Transportation distances from logging residue study (Asikainen et al. 2001) Theoretical potential Systematic clusterwise sampleplots of NFI9

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 16 Theoretical potential Methods 2/2 Restrictions Accumulation of industrial roundwood, max. 25 m 3 /ha Accumulation of energy fraction, min. 25 m 3 /ha Peatland stands and stands on mineral soil with site poorer than Myrtillus-type were excluded Minimum for mean stem size, 10 dm 3 Suggested cutting is urgent or delayed Estimated technical potential Example 2. Estimation of the forest energy potential of young forests in Finland

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 17 Accumulation, m 3 /year Availability of forest chips from young stands when using different stand selection criterias with 100 km procurement radius Results 1/2 Example 2. Estimation of the forest energy potential of young forests in Finland

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 18 Development classes in harvesting potential Vaasa Joensuu Accumulation, m 3 /year Distance, km Results 2/2 Example 2. Estimation of the forest energy potential of young forests in Finland

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 19 Young birch stand in the urgent need of thinning Energy accumulation > 50 m 3 /ha

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 20 Young pine stand, first thinning 20 m 3 /ha > Energy accumulation > 50 m 3 /ha

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 21 Production methods of chips from small-sized trees

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 22 Supply chains for logging residues (or log chips)

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 23 Brief analysis of technology selection for Highlands FACTS Low bearing capasity of soil Rounwood for fuel Existing harvesting traditions/entrepreneurs Several medium scale using places apart from each other Plenty of small using places apart from each other High moisture content of roundwood Chip burning boilers Gasification EFFECTS ON SUGGESTED TECHNOLOGY Terrain chipping almost out of question Harvesters and forwarders already exist and are effective Large number of professionals already know what is the name of the game Chipping at plant out of question Mobile effective chipper with large enough feeding capacity Farm scale chippers and local part-time operators needed Storing (with covering) over the summer

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 24 Complex analysis Annual need for forest fuels and other fuels Annual availability of forest fuels - fuel mix (residues, small trees, stumps) - transport distances in the forest/on road network Location of plant (centre of a town or in the sub urban area)? Size of plant yard (storage)? Municipal DH plant/Industrial CHP plant? Dominating technology to produce chips to DH plants Need for GIS-based availability and cost analysis Selection of harvesting technology

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 25 Cost structure of forest fuels in Finland Small trees, 40 kmSmall trees, 80 km Residues, 40 kmResidues, 80 km Cost, €/m 3 Management Road transport Chipping at roadside Forwarding to roadside Felling

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 26 Unit Costs of Fuel Chips Delivered to Plant Unit Costs of Fuel Chips Delivered to Plant Roadside Chipping, £ / tonne (preliminary calculations) 2.3 p/kWh 2.0 p/kWh Rural development

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 27 Wick Annual use tonnes / boiler With £40 / tonne => £

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 28 Availability of logging residues in different parts of Finland Availability of logging residues in different parts of Finland Asikainen et al 2001

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 29 Loose residues Stand chipping Terminal chipping Baled residues Relative price at the mill Annual harvesting amount, m 3 Relative price of fuel with different procurement methods Asikainen et al 2001

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 30 Residues from integrated operations 15 Mm 3 Stumwood from integrated operations 15 Mm 3 Separate fuelwood operations 5 Mm 3 Theoretical biomass potential 35 Mm 3 Residues from integrated operations 7-11 Mm 3 Stumwood from integrated operations 1-2 Mm 3 Separate fuelwood operations 2-3 Mm 3 Technically harvestable potential Mm 3 Residues from integrated operations 4 Mm 3 Stumwood from integrated operations 0-1 Mm 3 Separate fuelwood operations 1 Mm 3 Goal of the Action Plan for Mm 3 Basis of scenarios biomass reserve in Finnish forests Integrated harvesting of industrial raw material and fuel Separate harvesting of forest fuel (Hakkila 2004)

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 31 Scotland

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 32 Scotland

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 33 Scotland

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 34 Subsidies & legislation

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 35 Bioenergy has to be a profitable business for: energy companies contractors forest owners… Taxes and subsidies to adjusts price-competiveness subsidies for investments (20-30 %) taxes for fossil fuels ( €/MWh) subsidies for green electricity (6.9 €/MWh) subsidies for collecting fuel wood from young forests 0 – 5.5 €/MWh  Long-term national energy policy to secure investments -Make the market mechanism work for bioenergy! Policy instruments needed

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE Small trees, 40 kmSmall trees, 80 km Residues, 40 kmResidues, 80 km Cost, €/m 3 Management Road transport Chipping at roadside Forwarding to roadside Felling Harvesting subsidies in Finland Max 11 € / m 3

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 37 Harmful effects of subsidies Easily drives over-estimated investments Can disturb the development of market mechanisms Can make development of efficiency slower Example: Powerful support for wood energy installations at the same time with increasing oil price created the demand of pellets last winter in Germany and Austria bigger than supply. Runnig out of pellets in market gave bad reputation for whole business. Long term objective should be to make business without subsidies

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 38 Legislation In every country, legislation has to be known before adopting approaches from elsewhere. Examples: Max payload of trucks in Finland = 40 tonnes in UK = 22 tonnes In Russia, all timber has to harvested to roadside  Large amounts of wastewood is harvested but almost nobody use it! In Spain and Portugal, large amounts of biomass harvested with state support in order to prevent forest fires.

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 39 Legislation has to be considered at least: In emissions (environmental laws) In transportation (traffic laws) In harvesting (forest laws & environmental laws) §

FINNISH FOREST RESEARCH INSTITUTE 40 builds the future of forest sector through research Thank you for your attention