Task force to tackle Scottish wood fuel

Environment minister Michael Russell made the announcement during a visit to energy firm E.ON's new £90m biomass plant in Lockerbie, which is set to provide more than 300 jobs in the forestry and farming sectors and is the largest renewable power plant of its kind in the UK.

Mr Russell said that the task force will look at ways to increase the use of under-used resources such as forest residues and short rotation coppice and will also assess the impact the growth in wood fuel will have on the future supply and demand of other timber processing industries.

“We need to work harder to ensure that the correct supplies are available to meet the upsurge in demand,” said Mr Russell.

“This new task force signals a fresh drive to develop the wood fuel sector and maximise the opportunities.”

Forestry Commission Scotland is to head up the task force, which will also include representatives from the renewable energy, wood processing and land management industries.

As well as visiting the E.ON biomass facility, Mr Russell saw the cradle to grave production of wood fuel by visiting a Scottish forest to witness trees being harvested and then headed to James Jones & Sons Ltd to see the timber being processed before its dispatch to the power plant.