5EURES Training

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Estimation of Forest Fuel Potential Lauri
Sikanen Timo Tahvanainen Finnish Forest
Research Institute Joensuu
5EURES Training June 2006, Joensuu, Finland
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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
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Definition of forest fuel
Wood-based fuels
Forest Biomass
Energy Forest
Recycled wood
Short Rotation Forestry
Used wood from Construction Demolition Wooden
Packages
Secondary residues
Primary residues
Roundwood for energy Traditional firewood
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
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Small scale users Farms, private houses etc.
40 500 kW
FUELS
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Medium scale users Municipality size
0.5 20 MW
FUELS
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Large scale users City sizefor example
Alholmens KraftThe biggest biofuel energy plant
in the world -
550 MW combined heat and power
Total use of wood fuels 1 500 GWh/a Forest
residues 150 000 m3 300 GWh/a
www.alholmenskraft.com
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Quality as restriction
Quality requirement
Boiler size
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Transportation of woodfuel fractions
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).
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Small diameter trees from early
thinnings - Harvesting costs are high -
Cost difference to logging residue chips is about
10 - 15 /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
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Parts of the tree and their share of dry mass H
hardwoods Cconifers
(Young et al. 1964)
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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
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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
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Example 1. Availability of harvesting residues.
Spruce stand, final cutting Energy accumulation gt
100 m3/ha
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Example 1. Availability of harvesting residues.
All annual final cuttings in Joensuu surroundings
Availability polygons constructed from
the similar material for Vaasa surroundings
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Example 2. Estimation of the forest energy
potential of young forests in Finland
Methods 1/2
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Example 2. Estimation of the forest energy
potential of young forests in Finland
Methods 2/2

• Accumulation of industrial roundwood, max. 25
  m3/ha
• Accumulation of energy fraction, min. 25 m3/ha
• Peatland stands and stands on mineral soil with
  site
• poorer than Myrtillus-type were excluded
• Minimum for mean stem size, 10 dm3
• Suggested cutting is urgent or delayed

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Example 2. Estimation of the forest energy
potential of young forests in Finland
Results 1/2
Availability of forest chips from young stands
when using different stand selection criterias
with 100 km procurement radius
Accumulation, m3/year
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Example 2. Estimation of the forest energy
potential of young forests in Finland
Results 2/2
Development classes in harvesting potential
Vaasa
Accumulation, m3/year
Distance, km
Joensuu
Distance, km
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Young birch stand in the urgent need of
thinning Energy accumulation gt 50 m3/ha
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Young pine stand, first thinning 20 m3/ha gt
Energy accumulation gt 50 m3/ha
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Production methods of chips from small-sized trees
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Supply chains for logging residues (or log chips)
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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

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Selection of harvesting technology

• 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

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Cost structure of forest fuels in Finland
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Unit Costs of Fuel Chips Delivered to Plant
Roadside Chipping, / tonne (preliminary
calculations)
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Wick

• Annual use 3 500 tonnes / boiler
• With 40 / tonne gt 140 000

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Availability of logging residues in different
parts of Finland
Asikainen et al 2001
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Relative price of fuel with different procurement
methods
Asikainen et al 2001
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Residues from integrated operations 4 Mm3
Stumwood from integrated operations 0-1 Mm3
Goal of the Action Plan for 2010 5-6 Mm3
Separate fuelwood operations 1 Mm3
(Hakkila 2004)
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Scotland
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Scotland
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Scotland
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Subsidies legislation
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Policy instruments needed

• 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 (1.6-6.3 /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!

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Harvesting subsidies in Finland Max 11 / m3
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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
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LEX
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.

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• Legislation has to be
• considered at least
• In emissions (environmental laws)
• In transportation (traffic laws)
• In harvesting (forest laws environmental laws)

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builds the future of forest sector through
research
Thank you for your attention