November 15, 2023 Forest Management for Biomass
How managed forestry and biomass provide sustainable heating
Depending on factors like age, location, tree species, soil, and water, a hectare of planted forest will absorb between 4.5 tonnes and 40.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year. On a basic level, more trees should mean more carbon absorbed, so it’s understandable that cutting them down and using them for fuel seems like a bad idea for the environment. It might be counterintuitive, but biomass is one of the most environmentally friendly fuels for sustainable heating. Here’s how managed forestry and biomass are paired to fuel renewable heating and protect the environment.
What is sustainable forest management?
Forest Europe defines sustainable forest management as:
“The stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a way, and at a rate, that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfil, now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national, and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems.”
When it comes to protecting forests, the answer is never as simple as planting more trees and otherwise leaving them alone. For woodland to reach its fullest potential, there needs to be planning, strategy, and intervention. Just letting nature take its course doesn’t automatically mean maximum growth or optimal health for our trees.
Thinning
Occasionally, forests need ‘thinning’. In densely growing woodland, trees compete for resources, and some don’t grow as well as others. Some smaller trees sometimes need to be removed so that
- there is more space and light for the larger trees that need more of both
- there are more nutrients in the soil for the remaining trees
- more light reaches the forest floor, and encourages biodiversity and wildlife
That all means that felling the right trees at the right time results in overall improvement in carbon absorption, and in the ecological health of the area.
As it happens, those trees that are going to be felled anyway are a perfect source of biomass fuel.
Cultivating
It may be counterintuitive, but the desire to cut down trees can protect woodland. If we use wood for fuel, timber, and alternative material, that means there is an economic interest in growing, maintaining, and managing forests. Sustainable forest management is therefore appealing even to those who aren’t motivated by the environment.
No business wants to run out of essential materials, so even if someone is purely motivated by money, sustainability is still in their best interests. When sustainability is not only right, but also profitable, then you can rely on more people to commit to it.
How do biomass fuels provide sustainable heating?
Buildings that are off the gas grid don’t have many choices when it comes to heating, and typically they use oil boilers. Those boilers are expensive to run (at the time of writing, the price is around £900 per 1000 litres), but more importantly, the environmental impact of burning that oil is severe.
Every 20 MWh of heating energy that oil produces means well over five tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. That’s the equivalent of over:
- Five return flights between Paris and New York
- Driving a diesel car for 6,000 km
You would need to plant around 40 trees every year just to offset the carbon emissions of that oil boiler.
Speaking of planting trees, you might wonder, if they involve burning wood, are biomass boilers bad for the environment? In short, no, it’s the opposite — biomass is a renewable energy source that helps to dramatically reduce carbon emissions.
20MWh of heating from an environmentally friendly heating solution like a biomass boiler will only release about 300kg of CO2, which is less than 1/16 of the emissions of an oil boiler.
However, that’s not the entire picture. Burning fossil fuels releases carbon that had never been part of the atmosphere, so there’s an obvious increase. When you burn biomass, you’re still releasing carbon, but it’s carbon that the trees had absorbed during their lives. The net result is neutral, with the emissions you create already balanced out for sustainable heating.
Then, if the fuel came from sustainable woodland,
- its felling may have been necessary, and happening anyway for the sake of a healthier forest, therefore the biofuel hasn’t increased the demand for felling
- those managing the woodland will strategically plant more, so that more carbon-absorbing life replaces the trees that fall
When done right, biomass provides sustainable heating that’s is carbon-neutral or better.
How to switch sustainable heating for your home or business
If your business or your home is off the gas grid and you want to dramatically reduce the environmental impact of your heating source, then get in touch with Innasol today. We can have a no-obligation chat about your heating needs, or to explore the options, so call 01621 892613 to speak to our expert team or arrange a time to talk.
Innasol is the only UK distributor of ETA biomass boilers (the nation’s leading brand for biomass heating systems). Our network of installers work across the country to fit the very best sustainable heating technology — call today and find out the best option for you.
