Isra-Mart srl : Scottish firms told wood is good

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Scottish firms are being urged to burn wood for heating as part of efforts to reduce energy bills, cut greenhouse gas emissions and support rural businesses.

A campaign launched today aims to promote demand for renewable timber resources and wood fuel heating systems that from later this year will be eligible for payments under the UK government's £860m renewable heat incentive.

Forestry Commission Scotland said that the Scottish economy brings in more than £25m a year from producing and using wood fuel from existing forestry, new plantings or by-products from the timber industry.

It also claims that burning logs, woodchips, pellets or briquettes saves around 500,000 tonnes of CO2 a year.

Rebecca Carr, renewables advisor for Forestry Commission Scotland, said that demand for wood fuel north of the border has increased 300 per cent over the past four years, the commercial and industrial sectors alone accounting for 450,000 oven-dried tonnes of wood fuel each year.

"Burning wood for heat benefits the environment and supports rural economies. It gives users and suppliers a true 'fuel good' factor, with more and more businesses and individuals recognising that switching to wood fuel can save operating costs," she said.

The campaign is led by Usewoodfuel Scotland, an EU-funded partnership between Forestry Commission Scotland, Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Forest Research's Biomass Energy Centre. Its web site lists information on wood fuel sources, suppliers, funding and incentives for businesses.

A wave of new biomass power plants is currently being planned across Scotland and the rest of UK, although it has faced opposition from some environmental groups which have warned that the plants could be largely reliant on imported timber that undermines the carbon savings delivered by the technology.

However, the sector hopes that the expansion of the UK biomass industry could deliver a steady supply of domestic and sustainably certified timber.

In other Scottish news, the potential marine energy resource around the Shetland Isles has been mapped to showcase the most attractive areas for electricity production to developers.

The study was commissioned last year by Shetland Islands Council and Highlands and Islands Enterprise and first unveiled at RenewableUK's wave and tidal conference in March, before being presented at this week's All Energy Event in Aberdeen.

"Shetland has a huge untapped marine energy resource," said Josie Simpson, chairman of the Shetland Islands Development Committee and a former local fishing skipper.

"Finding ways to exploit this resource sustainably is very important for Shetland's future prosperity."