Wood energy: the supply in forest pellets

Within a context of development of projects which consume large quantities of forest pellets, this publication addresses the following issues: characterization of the forest pellet for energy (definition, quality parameters, standards and classification), forest resources, deposits and availabilities of wood energy in forest (the French forest as an important source of renewable energy, deposit assessment and harvest predictions, integration of wood energy harvest into a sustainable management of the French forest, wood energy in forest and territorial policies, wood energy valorisation in a forest massif), general principles of forest pellet production (production steps and equipment, production optimisation principles, costs of production operations), ways and costs of forest pellet production (detailed sheets per production way and production costs), storage, drying, packaging and delivery, and supply in forest pellets for wood boilers (prices, consumption according to the boiler type, supply modes and suppliers, technical and contractual securing of supplies). This publication also aims at providing answers to questions which can be asked by landlords of forest properties (interest, consequences of wood energy production, potential assessment, revenue calculation), by forest exploitation managers (harvest planning and organisation, reasons to advice a landlord), by forest exploitation companies and associated commercialisation structures (expected profitability, influence of tree population, necessary equipment for pellet production, pellet storage and drying systems, quality and quantity production, cost and price determination, transport and delivery organisation), heating installers (how to deal with pellet purchase), or public commissioners (pellet purchase mode, expected impact on territorial forests, wood and forest potential for wood energy production, environmental performance of a forest pellet supply, issue of the security of supply)