A website detailing the potential wood fuel resource for biomass plants in Britain to 2006 is to be launched.
The event is the culmination of a project funded by the Department of Trade and Industry‘s new and renewable energy programme with support from the Forestry Commission, Scottish Enterprise and the Welsh Assembly.
The project set out to quantify the biomass potential from traditional forests, primary processors, arboricultural operations and short rotation coppice; provide summarised information on a geographic information system through the web; allow users to submit a detailed query about a particular resource, location and time period.
Results indicate that the total potential operationally available wood fuel in Britain between 2003-2006, in the absence of competing markets, is 3.1 million oven dried tonnes (odt) per year.
Small roundwood will be the main source, followed by sawmill co-product. These have the potential to contribute around 1.03 and 0.86odt per year respectively.
The potential resource that could be made available to new wood fuel projects without serious disruption to existing wood-using industries is estimated to be 1.26odt per year.
Forestry Commission chairman Lord Clark will launch the website at the DTI Conference Centre, London on February 24 and DTI energy minister Stephen Timms will make the keynote address.
After a project presentation by Helen McKay of the Forestry Commission there will be presentations of the latest views of the industry including large-scale electricity generation, biomass heating and CHP, and transport fuels.
The website will be available at www.woodfuelresource.org.uk. Anyone wishing to attend the launch should contact 0870 190 6207.
