The company is paying €30-125/ha for energy wood available from spruce dominated final fellings.
UPM has modernised its power plants during the past 10 years and grown the use of biofuels. In 2005, 75% of energy production at its mills was through CO2 neutral fuels, with 900,000m3 of wood being used.
Anja Silvennoinen, UPM’s vice-president of energy, said: “As an energy intensive company, UPM wants to secure a cost competitive supply of energy with minimum emissions.”
The use of forest fuels has grown steadily due to the development of new harvesting techniques, including logging residue balers and combining stump lifting with soil preparation.
UPM said it aimed to make the energy wood business a normal part of timber sales.
