Review of wood fuel from early thinning and plantation cleaning in the Netherlands

Discussions regarding the use of wood fuels for commercial energy production in the Netherlands began in the 1990's. The main reasons for using wood fuel are: the political demand for using renewable energy, the need to reduce CO2 emissions, and the lack of markets for surplus timber. Only 10 % of the area of Holland is forested. Therefore, early thinning and cleaning are important management tools for improving growth and producing better quality timber. The energy potential from early thinning and plantation cleaning could be between 400 000 and 570 000 dry tons annually. The Netherlands has not experience in harvesting energy wood. However, through the International Energy Agency/Bioenergy Agreement, knowledge gained in other countries, especially Denmark, Sweden and Finland, is being transferred to Holland. In 1996, there have been made field tests with Danish equipment. Although there are few technical barriers to wood fuel in the Netherlands, the economics of wood fuels consumption are affected by the low costs of fossil fuels and the high natural gas reserves. This is changing however, due to political concerns over the balance of greenhouse gases. In 1996, a small energy tax on fossil fuels was introduced and electricity suppliers are now selling an environmentally friendly 'green electricity'. Energy wood has a future in the Netherlands, although the total forest reserves would satisfy only a small percentage of energy requirements 5 refs