Cold shock on the wood fuel industry

The development of the wood fuel industry represents one of the pillars of the European energy plan, and in particular of the French energy policy, as it fulfills both objectives of development of renewable energy sources and CO2 balance. The wood fuel industry supplies 6% of the French energy consumption and has permitted to save more than 9 million tons of petroleum equivalent. However, the conclusions of the European project CARBOSOL stress on the strong health impacts of wood-fueled combustion systems, in particular in the case of domestic individual systems and appliances. The combustion of biomass (fireplaces and agriculture) is responsible for 50 to 70% of the winter carbon pollution in Europe. The situation of collective or industrial wood-fueled facilities is different since pollution control solutions can be more easily implemented. (J.S.)