Matthew Woodcock Forestry Commission – South East & London Making the most from woodfuel

Woodheat Solutions – Making the most from woodfuel 14 September What is Woodheat Solutions? Project led by the Forestry Commission and sponsored by the European Union to transfer knowledge from Austria and Finland where woodheat is a well established industry to England, Slovenia and Croatia where the industry is developing. Slovenian Forestry Institute Technical Research Centre of Finland Styrian Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry

Woodheat Solutions – Making the most from woodfuel 14 September Undermanaged woodland Undermanaged mixed (conifer/broadleaf) woodland planted in the 1950s Typical broadleaved woodland of south east England – overstood coppice last cut > 40 years ago Also ancient woodland with high ecological value – declining through under-management

Woodheat Solutions – Making the most from woodfuel 14 September Pay for energy Weight and moisture content have the greatest impact on energy value. Test energy value using domestic scales and oven

Woodheat Solutions – Making the most from woodfuel 14 September Value of wood as a heat source? As we all appreciate unseasoned wood comprises around 50% water, and water doesnt burn well! When seasoned to 30% wood can deliver about 3,500kWhs per tonne But different species vary in density: Broadleaved wood approx. 2,500 kWhs per m 3 Conifer around 1,800 kWhs per m 3

Woodheat Solutions – Making the most from woodfuel 14 September Compared to heating oil: Heating oil at 60 pence per litre Provides 10kWhrs per litre Cost = 6 pence per kWhr Seasoned broadleaf wood (30% MC) Provides 2,500 kWhrs per m 3 The cost of heating oil to deliver the same heat = > £150 per m 3

Woodheat Solutions – Making the most from woodfuel 14 September Energy value of conifers

Woodheat Solutions – Making the most from woodfuel 14 September Energy value of broadleaves

Woodheat Solutions – Making the most from woodfuel 14 September Potential woodfuel in SEE Non FC Woods haEst YC m3 per ha per yr 75% Sawlogs Woodfuel Slabwood MWh/yr Conifer24, ,712144,534 86,72034,68843,36062,439 Broadleaved135, ,200405,900 40,590365,31020,295913,275 Mixed (* 3 )35, ,690160,268 96,16138,46448,08084,621 Coppice (* 8 )8,649651,89438,921 3,89235,0281,94663,051 Coppice with standards (* 8 ) 7,504645,02433,768 3,37730,3911,68854,704 Windblow (* 4 ) ,137 Felled (* 4 )2,34749,3887, , ,406 Open space20, TOTAL 234,411 1,054,844791,133231,514510,851115,757 1,190,634 FC Woods haEst YC m3 per ha per yr 75% Sawlogs Woodfuel Slabwood MWh/yr Conifer11, ,080 68,44827,37934,22449,283 Broadleaved13,746454,984 5,49849,4862,749123,714 Mixed6,562639,372 23,6239,44911,81220,788 Coppice81364, , ,902 Coppice with standards Windblow Felled80643, , ,223 Open space2, TOTAL (* 2 )35, ,902 98,41693,93349, ,500

Woodheat Solutions – Making the most from woodfuel 14 September Assumptions * 1 includes all woods of < 2 ha * 2 Area of FC woodland will have been reduced by sales during this period so area of non FC woods could be slightly greater. * 3 Assume 60% broadleaves by area and 40% conifer by area – on basis that most mixed crops will be > 40 years old and well into their thinning regime to establish a final crop of broadleaves * 4 Assume windblown and felled areas will be restocked with broadleaves *5 Estimate that 25% of all woods will not be actively harvested due to owners preference or site difficulties *6 Estimate that 60% of conifer and mixed crops, and 10% of broadleaf growing resource could be used as sawlogs *7 Estimate that there is a 50% conversion rate of saw logs into sawn timber, hence 50% of the sawlog volume will be slabwood or sawdust and hence potential woodfuel *8 Traditionally many of the broadleaved woods in SEE would have been managed as coppice, or as coppice with standards, whereby the stems were felled every 7 (hazel) to 15 (sweet chestnut) years and then allowed to regrow from the cut stump. Having the well established root stock effectively supporting regrowth the growth rates of coppiced woods are significantly higher in their early years than would be possible from newly planted trees. Our ancestors found that this was the most effective way to produce the fuel and building material they needed. I have used an estimated growth rate of 6 m3 per ha per year to balance between hazel where the volumetric growth rates appear to be lower (no-one to my knowledge has done any research on this as hazel has traditionally been used for the hurdle and thatching market) and where we break the estimate down to counties I have dropped the estimated growth rate for Hampshire coppice to 2 m3 per ha per year as a good proportion of Hampshire coppice is hazel). At the other end of the spectrum sweet chestnut on a 15 year rotation will deliver 8 m3 per ha per year BUT if the rotation is extended to years this increases to up to 12 m3 per ha per year. However, we should also remember that sweet chestnut coppice can be converted into a whole range of products - spile fencing, cleft fencing, even faggots for flood defence but having a use for the lower quality elements and offcuts is essential to make the whole business work. This principle of increased average growth rates by extending coppice rotations to years is likely to hold true for all major broadleaved coppice species such as ash and hornbeam. Overall traditional coppice management appears to offer considerable opportunites for woodfuel production - just as our ancestors found! *9 Assumes wood is seasoned to 30% moisture content (as a proportion of overall weight), broadleaves deliver 2,500kWhrs per m 3, conifers 1,800kWh per m 3 and mixed crops 2,200kWh's per m 3. Again figures are conservative as oak and beech will manage 2,800 and 2,700kWh per m 3 respectively but poplar and willow will deliver about 1,800kWh's per m 3

Woodheat Solutions – Making the most from woodfuel 14 September How much is available? 1,000,000m 3 Salvage harvest after ice storm in Sweden

Woodheat Solutions – Making the most from woodfuel 14 September Making the most of woodfuel? Be a market maker: Supply your own heat; Sell heat to others; Supply local, quality woodfuel via long term contracts Optimise the wood to warmth supply chain Know your product: Calorific value Quality – CEN Standards Market its benefits: Natural Sustainable Delivers biodiversity, landscape, etc

Woodheat Solutions – Making the most from woodfuel 14 September Stansted Park – self supply

Woodheat Solutions – Making the most from woodfuel 14 September Hoathly Hill – woodheat distribution Energy centre Heat distribution network (underground hot water pipe)

Woodheat Solutions – Making the most from woodfuel 14 September Small scale CCHP Waitrose

Woodheat Solutions – Making the most from woodfuel 14 September Medium scale CHP BAA – Heathrow T2

Woodheat Solutions – Making the most from woodfuel 14 September Markets stimulate new woods

Woodheat Solutions – Making the most from woodfuel 14 September Difficult land