What is driving energy policy?
The pressing need to address climate change is driving
developments across a host of policy areas, including energy. As
part of its Climate Change Delivery
Plan, The Scottish Government has set
ambitious targets for renewable energy to help reduce our carbon
emissions. Renewable energy can also help address energy security,
offering new and exciting opportunities for investment and growth
in Scotland, in the same way that we benefitted from cheap and
abundant coal, oil and gas in the past.
Woodfuel is a significant and uniquely responsive source of
renewable energy, particularly for heat generation. Heat currently
accounts for 53% of energy demand in Scotland. Local use of
woodfuel is an efficient source of heat energy and woodfuel
already provides around 30% of the renewable energy production in
the EU.
The Scottish Government's policy is for biomass to be
deployed in heat-only or combined heat and power schemes, off
gas-grid, at a scale appropriate to make best use of both the
available heat, and of local supply. The 11% renewable heat target
is a priority for the Scottish Government and woodfuel is critical
to delivering that goal.
A number of documents have been published in the last few year
on energy generation, including biomass:
An expanding sector
The biomass industry is now rapidly growing and there is also
increasing demand for timber from a wide range of developments,
from local markets to major energy generation plants. The Woodfuel Demand
and Usage Report 2010 esimated that demand for
woodfuel would be around 1.5 million tonnes by 2010 and current
proposals could further increase demand in the future.
The Woodfuel Task Force was set up in August 2007 to look at how
to mobilise additional volumes from traditional forestry, such as
forest residues, and new sources, such as arboricultural residues
or Short Rotation Forestry. For further information see The
Woodfuel Taskforce Report 2008.