Procurement Of Forest Residues Brochure

tries. The figures below show the potential and theactual use of biomass. It is evident from thesegraphs that the biggest potential to increase the useof biomass lies within forest residues and other bio-mass resources such as agrobiomass and fruit bio-mass. The largest biomass reserves can be found inFinland, Sweden, Germany and France, but alsoPoland and Spain have substantial volumes avail-able for energy production. The largest volumes ofavailable felling residues (excluding stump wood)are in Sweden (15 million m3), Finland (11.4million m3), France (8.6 million m3) and Germany (6million m3). When stem wood from additionalfellings of unutilized increment and felling residuesfrom them are added, available felling residues arein these countries about 20 million m3, in Swedennearly 25 million m3.Forest residues utilization is still taking place on avery small scale. Up until now, large scale use of for-PROCUREMENT OF FOREST RESIDUESForest residues are an underexploited source ofRES with an exception of Scandinavian countriessuch as Finland and Sweden. Maximum EU poten-tial of forest residues is 251 million m3, of which theharvestable potential – 140 million m3. Only lessthan 5 % of harvestable potential is currentlyutilised. Therefore, it is important to mobilise this renewableenergy mainly through the national supportschemes and information dissemination. The fol-lowing brochure gives an overview on forestresidues technology and other important factorsregarding the procurement of forest residues suchas the actual forest residues potential, environmen-tal, financial aspects and fuel quality.1. Potential of forest residuesForest residues are an underexploited source ofbioenergy. The maximum potential of forest fuels inthe EU covers 543 millions m3, (94,6 Mtoe) of whichlogging residues make up 251 millions m3(43,73 Mtoe)1. However, the use of this potential depends on vari-ous factors and biomass fuels conditions such asEU and national policies and regulations, emissionstrading, availability of biomass and the logistics offeedstock supply, the development of technologies,and economic and social factors. Harvestable potentialFor environmental and biodiversity reasons, not allmaximum potential of forest residues is to beexploited. The harvestable forest residues potentialcan be counted as follows:• 75 % of maximum potential of final fellings• 45 % of thinnings• 20 % of stumps from final fellings • 25 % of the additional fellings (i.e. fellings of theinutilised increment or roundwood balance)Therefore, volume of technically available forestfuels in EU-25 accounts for 140 million m3, (55-60 % of the maximum forest residues potential) ofwhich 72 million m3 are felling residues from currentfellings and 68 million m3 are roundwood and fellingresidues from unutilized increment or roundwoodbalance. This includes 13 million m3 of stumpwood. However, also ecological impacts of wholetree biomass harvesting should be taken into theconsideration when available biomass for energyuse is estimated. Stands with poor soils wherenutrient losses in balances could result, steepslopes endangered by erosion and avalanches, andother sensitive sites should be excluded from suchcalculations. However, only less than 5% of the technically avail-able potential is used, mainly in Scandinavian coun-321 Pirkko Vesterinen, Eija Alakangas & Terhi Lensu, VTTsource: ITEBEsource: Timberjack John Deeresource: VTTsource: VTTsource: Combubois est residues occurs only in Scandinavian countrieswhereas in most other EU countries loggingresidues are not collected at all. The main barriersfor the use of forest residues are transportationcosts, harvesting and handling costs. As for thesmall-scale, the forest chips especially if they comefrom forest residues can only be used if the qualityof fuel is good enough (particle size, moisture con-tent). 2 Fuel qualityThe European Committee of Standardisation (CEN)has prepared 30 technical specifications on solidbiofuels. These technical specifications are pre-standards, which are in force for 3 years after pub-lishing. At the moment, they do not invalidatenational standards. After three year period it will bedecided whether these technical specifications willbe updated to European Norms. The upgradingwork has started in autumn 2006 and will be carriedout until 2010. In the meantime, there are variouspossibilities (via international biomass conferences,articles etc.) for standard users to give their com-ments and further improve the European standards. CEN committee prepared the specifications ofproperties for biomass fuels including the propertiesof forest residues. 3 Types and TechnologyGenerally, the value of forest residues might be lessthan the cost of collection, transportation, and pro-cessing for energy production. However, throughadvanced technologies including the whole fuelsupply and logistics chain, forest residues such aslogging residues, small trees, stumps and roots canbecome a new resource for solid biofuels - efficient-ly used in the form of forest chips (like in Finland andSweden). This new resource could contribute toBAP goals and avoid possible environmental prob-lems. But the right technology is a key element hereas otherwise the cost of collection becomes higherthan resource itself and environmental impact is notreduced as the technology can produce secondaryresidues, which requires careful management. Forest fuel can be collected from young stands,short rotation forests thinnings and from finalfellings - so called logging residues including har-vesting the stumps and roots. Forest residues from thinningsYoung forests sometimes get too dense. Thinningthese forests helps the trees to grow into more valu-able and better quality forest. The thinning processcan be carried out manually or automatically withwood collectors. The whole tree received from the4 5Volumes of available felling residues and stump/root biomass in top 10 EU countries having highest available potential.Country Share of timberfrom clearcutsShare of mechani-sation in cuttingTotal fellingresidues (mill.m3/yr)Available residuesof felling (mill. m3/yr)Available residuesof balance(mill.m3/yr)Felling residues volumeof stump wood avail-able (mill. m3/yr)Austria 18% 30% 10,1 2,9 2,7 0,2Belgium 70% 80% 2,6 1,1 0,3 0,1CyprusCzech Republic 83% 10% 8,9 3,2 1,5 0,5Denmark 70% 50% 1,2 0,4 0,4 0Estonia 73% 55% 1,6 0,6 0 0,1Finland 79% 97% 26,7 11,4 6,3 1,8France 76% 40% 22,6 8,6 10,2 1,6Germany 5% 35% 23,4 6 13,9 0,1Greece 6% 0%Hungary 72% 15% 2 0,7 1,2 0,1Ireland 82% 95% 1,3 0,6 0,4 0,1Italy 20% 2% 2,9 0,7 3,1 0,1Latvia 76% 5% 2,9 1 1,5 0,2Lithuania 50% 0% 2,2 0,7 1,1 0,1LuxembourgMaltaThe Netherlands 80% 25% 0,6 0,2 0,3 0Poland 44% 2% 12,5 3,6 2,9 0,6Portugal 70% 30% 3,6 1,3 0,5 0,3Slovakia 40,2% 70% 3 0,9 1,7 0,1Slovenia 0% 70% 1,1 0,3 1,3 0Spain 70% 30% 4,4 1,6 5,7 0,3Sweden 70% 98% 35,2 15 6,9 2,2United Kingdom 80% 90% 4,4 1,8 1,7 0,2Total 173,2 62,6 63,6 8,7Chipping at roadside, source: Combuboissource: METLAForest residues fuelNet calorific value Moisture (Mar) Bulk density (BD) Net calorific value asreceived (Qnet,ar)Energy density asreceived (E ar)[GJ/t] [%] [kg/m3] [GJ/t] [GJ/m3 loose]Chips – final fellings 18.5 – 20.0 50.0 – 60.0 250 - 400 6.0 – 9.0 2.5 – 3.2Chips - thinnings 18.5 – 20.0 50.0 – 60.0 250 - 400 6.0 – 9.0 2.5 – 3.2Chips – delimbed smallsized trees 18.5 – 20.0 50.0 – 60.0 250 - 400 6.0 – 9.0 2.5 – 3.2Main properties of forest residues , source: Alakangas 2000, CEN/TS 14961Wood chips, source: ITEBE optimized so that the load capacity of the transportequipment can be fully utilised.Bundling technologyAfter being bundled, the slash logs are transportedwith standard forwarders from the forest to the road side where they can be storedtemporarily or transported to the power plant bystandard timber trucks. The slash logs are usuallycrushed at the power plant or terminal inventory.When comparing bundles and loose residues fromthe stand-point of transport, bundles is the mostcost effective alternative but not for short distances. Forest residues from stumps and roots Stumps and roots are a major unexploited resourceof forest logging residues. It consist more that 20 %of a harvestable dry mass of a tree. In regenerationcuttings the full yield from stumps has turned to beas high as from above ground residues. The stumpharvesting, handling and crushing technology isbecoming cost competitive and the quality of thesechips meets the requirements set for fluidized bedboilers. Forestry works related to removing stumpsare becoming easier to handle and cost-effective.Stump and root technologyStumps are pulled using excavators equipped witha special stump rake. Wheeled stump forwarders,which carry out both uprooting and off-road trans-port. When pulled, the stumps are torn to pieces –thinning consists of a small diameter stand wood,branches, leaves and needles and provides a signif-icant energy potential for solid biofuels. Industrialwood parts are harvested at the same time for abetter productivity. Thinning technology - Accumulative FellingheadBeside a simple wood harvester, a new technologyis available suchas accumulativefelling headadapted to har-vest young tressfrom early thin-nings. The accu-mulation principleis a part of thistechnology whichenables one tocut and bundleseveral trees atonce and in a standing position instead of having tolay them on the ground. Depending on the treespecies, up to ten trees can be accumulated beforethe “felling head” needs to be emptied. Thisincreases harvesting capacity as well as harvestingefficiency due to lesser manoeuvre moves. Forest residues from final fellings Logging residues or so called forest slash are eithera waste left on the ground after the logging opera-tions have taken place (wood harvesting) or theexcesses of production that have not been used. Inmost countries forest slash is still not used whereasin Finland, Sweden and a couple of other countriesthis energy resource is largely utilised. Theseresidues are the main source of forest fuels fromfinal fellings. At the felling areas for every m3 of solidindustrial wood, the residual biomass generatedamounts from 35 to 45 %. Forest slash mainly con-sist of the tops of trunks, stems, branches, leaves,stumps and roots and when discharged can causeenvironmental problems and the loss of a naturalresource. Logging residues can be effectively usedwith a new bundling technology. Bundling Technology for logging residuesIn the bundling method the forest residue or slash iscollected and fed into the bundler that producescompact slash logs or bundles. The length of slash logs is approximately 3 metersand about 60-70 cm in diameter. They weight about550 kg and kept tight with a cord. Each bundle con-tains about 1MWh of energy depending of speciesand moisture content. The machine picks up the tops and branches andplaces them into the feed mechanism. One hectarefelling area yields about 100 -150 bundles with aproductivity rate of 20 to 30 bundles per hour (inSweden and Finland). The length of the bundle is6 7Bundling residues into log format, source: VTTStump harvesting, source: VTTWoodchips storage and drying, source: CombuboisBundled residues at roadside, source: CombuboisLogging residues bundling at roadside, source: CombuboisStump and roots collection, source: UPMStump excavating, source: UPMTimberjack harvester with accumulativefelling head, source: VTTStump harvesting, source: METLA to make them clean and dry – and piled up in theharvesting area. When the stumps are dry, they arehauled to road-side storage with a heavy foresttractor. Rain and further drying improve the qualityof the stumps by cleaning them from stones andsoil, and they are typically kept in storage for atleast a year. Long-distance transport Stump androot harvesting (chipping at plant method) is doneusing special trucks. Stumps of good quality are inwintertime the best forest fuel for the power plants. Stumplifting is the fastest growing forest fuel pro-curement method in Finland, however, this forestfuel is not largely utilized in other EU countries dueto the mud and stones that are harvested togetherwith the stumps. Therefore, crushing of stumps hasto be operated at the plant with a big crusher resist-ant to stones. However, at the moment the research on so called“second generation” forest residues is taking placemainly for two reasons: to reduce the cost andimprove the cleaning process as one of the mainproblems with stump harvesting is that there is a lotof mud and stones in the stumps. For this reason,chipping of the stumps should be done in the plantwith a crusher that can not be damaged if thestumps are with stones. 4 Production chainForest residues can be divided into several proce-dures which is harvesting, chipping, crushing andtransportation. Efficient transportation is a key ele-ment as the highest cost of the process lies intransportation. For this reason it is very important toensure a good logistical planning and high technol-ogy navigation systems. HarvestingHarvesting is the first step in the logistical chain ofthe production of solid biofuels. There are 67 M m3of available forest residues in the EU member statesbut only 6 M m3 are harvested. The thermal value ofthe logging residues collected within the rotationperiod of wood is about 160 MWh which in thermalvalue corresponds to 14 tons of domestic heatingoil. Logging residues can be harvested either immedi-ately after felling or during the summer season. Inseasoned case a significant part of residues are leftin the felling area but the quality of wood fuels ishigher due to a lower content of moisture. Also theharvesting technology in the seasoned case is eas-ier to manage especially in northern countries of theEU. Recovery of logging residues can reach 75- 85 % inwinter (Sweden and Finland) and about 45 % insummer. Recovery also depends on the chosen siteto harvest, more precisely on tree species, theamount of timber, the size and branch density of atree and terrain characteristics. For example,spruce stands the amount of logging residues ismuch bigger than that for pine or birch stands.Although, a part of residues, usually 20-30 %,should be left on the ground for fertilizing purposes. If the recovery rate is significantly lower than 50 %,it means that the site has been poorly chosen or thework on the site has been careless.A good harvesting site (Alakangas et al, 1999):• As much spruce as possible; good recovery rateand productivity• Enough fertile soils only• A sufficiently large felling site or a concentrationof stands• Easily traversed, well bearing ground• No undergrowth which hinders logging• Short terrain transport distance• A spacious roadside storage area for long dis-tance transport. Production chain and comminution typesThe position of the chipper or the crusher in wholeproduction chain determines the state of the bio-8 9mass during transportation and also a key factorinfluencing the transportation costs. The main chain of chip procurement is: cutting, offroad transport from forest site to road site, com-minution, secondary transport from roadside to mill,and receiving and handling at the plant (Hakkila,2004). The most important phase is comminution as it hasa crucial fact of the cost efficiency. Before combus-tion, the forest residues are comminuted, that ischipped or crushed. The comminution can takeplace in terrain, at landing, at terminal or at plant. Comminution in terrain Terrain chipping is based on a single machine,called terrain chipper. Terrain chippers carry outseveral operations. It lifts the residues with its grap-ple loader and puts them into the feeder of thechopping device; residues then are chipped andhauled into a container to the landing or to the road-side. The truck picks up the exchangeable contain-ers and transports them to the power plant andreturns the emptied containers to the landing.This type of comminution is economically viable insmall logging sites because the single machine car-ries out a comminution of residues and the off-roadtransport of chips, so the cost of shifting machinesfrom site to site is reduced. However, the capacityof load is rather small, the speed of the chipper islow and the operations require flat and even ground.For these reasons the role of terrain chipper in largescale production is diminishing. Comminution at roadside or landing The comminution at landing is the traditional optionfor forest chip production. Logging residues arehauled by forwarders to the roadside landing allyear round from the surroundings of the terminaland bunched into 4-5 metres piles. They are left todry over the next summer which improves the qual-ity of the fuel. Logging residues bundling, source: CombuboisComminution at road side, source: ITEBEComminution at roadside or landing, source: VTTComminution in terrain, source: VTTSource: VTTSupply chain for large scale forest chips production While it is true that this method “can be implement-ed more economically than in terrain or roadside”,this advantage is partly cancelled by the highertransportation costs of loose forest residues com-pared to the chips (because chips are more com-pact, the energy content of one truck-load is higherwith chips than with un-chipped residues). If theresidues are bundled before transportation, itimproves the economy of transportation especiallywith longer distances.5 Estimation of costs of forest residuesSolid biofuels from forest residues are usually pro-duced under very diverse conditions in Europe. Thefigure bellow shows the prices of forest residues incomparison with the price of industrial wood chipsThe forwarder operates independently of the chip-per and logging residues are chipped directly to thelong distance trailer trucks without any storage offorest residue chips at the landing. Depending onthe size of operation, either farm tractors that drivethe chipper (small-scale operations) or heavy truckmountain crushers or chippers (large-scale opera-tions) are used. Therefore, this comminution type results in waitingand stocks as there is a close linkage betweenchipper and truck when the chips are blown direct-ly into the trailer trucks. However landing chippersdo not operate off road and can therefore be heav-ier, stronger and more efficient than terrain chip-pers. If the biomass such as stump and root woodis contaminated by stones and soil, it is also possi-ble to use crushers that are more tolerant than chip-pers. Comminution at terminal Comminution at terminal is based on the followingsubsequent phases: terrain haulage, storage anddrying. The residues are transported to a central-ized terminal where they are chipped later. At theterminal, the uncomminuted residues are unloadedinto a storage deck where they are left to dry oversummer. The terminal stores of logging residues aretypically 400 to 2000 m3 (inSweden and Finland). If compared with comminu-tion at landing or road side the terminal methodenables more economical storage and chipping aswell as easier quality control. Comminution at plantIn the comminution at plant, the logging residuesare chipped and crushed at the end use facility.Either loose or in bundles, residues are transportedto the plant where a chipper or crusher performsthe chipping. This method improves the fuel qualityas well as the control of the procurement process.Also, heavy stationary crushers at a plant can com-minute a wide variety of biomass including stump,root and recycled wood. Harvesting technology Costs for harvesting and wood chip supply in € / 1 bulk m3Chipping of branches and tree topsafter processor application, trans-port of wood chips with containertrucks of the heating plant5,60 - 7,20 €Combination harvester and for-warder, transport of round timber tothe heating plant, chipping at theheating plant12,40 - 16,20 €Harvesting chain saw and for-warder, cable yarder and skidder,transport or round timber to theheating plant, chipping at the heat-ing plant12,00 - 19,70 €Application of special tools, forexample mobile chippers in combi-nation with tweak machines, abundling machine or a wood chipharvester13,80 - 20,30 €Residues on road, source: VTT10 11Comminution at terminal, source: VTTSource: EUBIONETPrices in the EU (excluding VAT) - Forest chips and industrial wood residues - December, 2004Transport of residues bundles to power plant, source: UPMSource: EUBIONET Source: EUBIONETComminution at plant, source: VTTComminution at road side, source: CombuboisSource: Chamber of Agriculture in Forestry of Styria such as pellets and briquettes and coal. Forest residues are cheaper in Finland than, forexample, in Austria and Denmark. The price is lowerdue to the fact that the supply chain in Finland ismore cost effective as forest residues are harvestedtogether with wood. New member states have alower price for forest residues mainly because of thelower production costs and the competition withconventional fuel prices. The cost and availability of forest chips vary largelybetween the countries due to differences in the for-est resources, annual harvest and cost structure ofmachines. It is often that the cost depends on howwell all the operations featured in the picture“Supply chain” are organised together. Supply chain for large scale forest chips productionIn general, the production cost of forest residueslargely depends on the following criterias:• comminution type• transportation distance• storage and drying• degree of mechanisation• steepness of the terrain• type and size of the machines used• labour costs in the countryBeside Finish and Polish examples, the cost can becounted as in the example of Austria.6 Legislation and policiesSeveral political initiatives have been taken withinthe European Commission and the individual mem-ber states in order to ensure the sustainable energyproduction in Europe, to diminish the dependenceon imported fuels and protect the environment. European Union has adopted various environmentalagricultural and energy policies and measures toincrease the use of renewables, however, the pro-duction of renewable energy using forest residues isthe most affected by the national policies.Example of national energy policy : case ofFinlandFinish national energy and climate policy is basedon National Climate Strategy which was adopted in2001 and revised in 2003-2005. The objective of the Strategy is to increase therenewable energy share within total energy con-sumption by at least one fourth by 2015 and by atleast 40 % by 2025. The use of forest chips, agro-biomass fuels, biogas and small-scale use of woodare promoted through energy policy measures. Theactions envisaged in the strategy aim to achieve the65 % renewables target by 2015 and 80 % by 2025.The main tools to achieve these objectives are thetechnology development and financial support.Measures to implement the policyImplementation of the Energy and Climate ChangeStrategy calls for financial support measures. Technology R&D and the introduction of new tech-nologies are the main measures aiming at econom-ically competitive solutions within the open market.That is why, the focus of Finish Funding Agency forTechnology and Innovation (Tekes) is on sustainabledevelopment solutions with 15,5 million (in 2004)Euros reserved for the funding of renewable energyR&D. The total funding for renewable energy and cli-mate change technology has been 60-70 millionEuros annually. Finland was the first to impose a carbon-basedenvironment tax in 1990 by introducing a CO2 tax onfossil fuels. In heat generation, solid biofuels, suchas wood fuels, biogas and solid recovered fuels, arenot taxed. A tax subsidy for electricity productionfrom renewable energy sources was introduced in1997.In CHP, the tax was split into two: combined gener-ation of electricity and heat production. The fuelsused for heat generation are calculated consideringthe amount of heat produced. The consumption ofheat fuels is calculated by multiplying the heatamount generated by the factor 0,9. The tax paid bythe consumer on the electricity produced withwood-based fuel CHP (<40MVA) was refunded as asubsidy to the producer 4.2 EUR/MWh. Likewise,the support is given for electricity producers fromforest residues and amounts for 6.9 EUR/MWH. Subsidies granted for energy investments, develop-ment projects and energy conservation is an impor-tant part of the National Energy and Climate strate-gy. In 2004, the total amount of 31.2 million Euroswas available for energy supports and 70 % of thesum was granted to renewable energy investments. Information dissemination and training is the keyelement to achieve the high renewable energy tar-gets. The Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry haschannelled the main part of the funds to energyinformation through Motiva Oy. During 2008—2012,the proposed total funding for information dissemi-nation and training in renewable energy sources andenergy conservation is € 2.5 million annually. Thesupport for information dissemination on energyand climate change was € 3.4 million in 2004. Thesupport includes the promotion of network of ener-gy agencies, training advisors in wood energy, train-ing young people at schools, universities etc, pro-12Directive/communication Date of publication PurposeDirective 2001/77/EC on electricity production fromrenewable energy sources Published on 27 September 2001The aim is to increase the share of renewableelectricity from 14% to 22% by 2010Directive 2002/91/EC on the energy performance inbuildings Published on 16 December 2002Measures on the energy performance in buildingsand the use of renewable energyBiomass Action plan COM (2005) 628 final (BAP) This Commission communication was adopt-ed 7 December 2005 Designed to increase the use of energy fromforestry, agriculture and waste materials in threesectors: heating, electricity and transport.Directive 2004/8/EC (CHP) Published on 11 February 2004Directive has the aim to promote cogenerationbased on a needed heat demand in the internalenergy market.Renewables roadmap (within the Energy package)Published on 10 January 2007 and acceptedby the European Spring Council on 8-9March 2007The aim is to increase the share of renewables inthe current energy mix to 20% by 2020.Forest residues bundling, source: UPMsource UPMsource UPM13Source: METLASource: METLA duction of information material and others. Support for the forestry and agriculture sectorThe Act on the Financing of Sustainable Forestryentitles non-industrial, private forest owners to seekgovernmental grants for the afforestation of under-stocked areas, prescribed burning, the tending ofyoung stands, the harvesting of energy wood, forestrecovery, fertilisation etc. Loans can be granted forjoint ventures involving improvement ditching andforest road construction.The state supports the harvesting costs of thinningsfrom young stands. in year 2004, the total publicsupport for the harvesting of energy wood fromyoung stands amounted to € 4.7 million. The sup-port to forest owners for forestry operations rangesbetween 210.5—294.7 €/ha when the harvestingservices are outsourced and when a farm has aforestry plan, and 168.4—252.6.0 €/ha, if the forestowner does not have a forest plan. Support forwood fuel harvesting is 3.5 €/m3 and forest trans-portation 3.5 €/m3, the total support being 7 €/m3(about 1 €/GJ). In 1999, the subsidisation of har-vesting and use of fuel wood was improved. At theend of the year 1999, a new support scheme wasintroduced by the Ministry of Agriculture andForestry to cover also the chipping costs. This“chipping support” (1.7 €/loose m3, about 0.6 €/GJ)is paid for chips produced from trees harvestedfrom young stands and to the organisation or thefarmer delivering the chips to the plant. In the newEnergy and Climate Change Strategy this support isplanned to be € 6 million annually during the period2008—20 12. (Ministry of Trade and Industry EnergyDepartment, 2005)The Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestryfinances development projects that promote theuse of wood energy and gives investment, start-upand development support to enterprises, partlyfinanced by the European Agricultural Guidanceand Guarantee Fund through the Regional RuralDevelopment Programme (ALMA), Objective 1Programmes and to some extent also the Leader+Programme. The aim of the financing is to put inorder the whole energy production chain from theforest to the production plant. The primary benefici-aries of these projects are farm enterprises and so-called chain enterprises co-operating with farms(employment not more than 5 person-years).During the recent EU financing period 2000—2006,the total amount of € 35 million has been granted fordifferent development projects. The support grant-ed to energy enterprisers, mainly as investment aid,amounted to about € 9 million and that granted tofarm heating stations amounted to about € 15 mil-lion. The support granted from national funds forheating station investments of farms has been onaverage € 5.3 million/yr.7 Environmental aspectsEnvironmental impact of forest residues variesdepending on the type of forest residues harvested.Thinnings and young stands harvesting has a posi-tive environmental impact as it helps the forest togrow into a better quality forest. However, procure-ment of logging residues requires careful manage-ment as otherwise the ecosystem of the forest canbe easily damaged. In order to ensure the environmentally friendly wayof harvesting logging residues, the following keyelements have to be taken into account:Soil degradationIn order to avoid the degradation of the soil, it isimportant to leave a considerable amount of nutri-ents on the ground. Different parts of the trees con-tain different amount of nutrients. Generally wood(including bark), branches and leaves/needles con-tain respectively 1:2:4 parts of nutrients. Thisimplies that the soil degradation can be preventedby leaving needles and a considerable amount ofbranches in the forest. For environmental and economical reasons, thetrees or branches that are less than four centimetresin diameter should be left in the forest. Dry biomass harvestingIn order to ensure that the necessary for the soilnutrition stays in the forest, the biomass should beleft on the ground for a certain period of time afterthe harvesting processes have taken place. It allowsthe needles and branches to dry and fall down. Thecollection of the remaining wood without leaves andneedles can now be delivered dry and, therefore,transformed into more valuable and better suited forstorage chips. Furthermore, due to the decreasedamount of leaves and needles, the burning of dryresidues produces a lower amount of ashes andreleases less emissions. Preservation of soil degradation is especially impor-tant for degraded forest soils as well as for conifer-ous monocultures. Increased mechanizationManual labour would be too expensive to use forthe harvesting of forest residues, however, heavyharvesting machines damages the soil as well asthe trees left in the forest. Forest machines are usually quite heavy and, there-fore, can destroy the structure of micro porosities.These micro pores are essential for the ventilation ofsoils. Soil ventilation helps the tree roots to proper-ly absorb the nutrients from the soil. In order toavoid the negative impact, the use of heavy machin-ery should be limited to insensitive soils. In addition, unused branches could be left in front ofthe harvester so that when the harvester is movingforward, it would drive on the residues and in thisway minimizing soil compression as unused forestresidues would act as insulation between tires andsoil.When harvesting, the driver has to be careful not todamage the bark of the trees remaining in the forest.If the bark is damaged, fungi spores start decom-posing the tree and, therefore, the quality of thetrees is decreasing. It is also possible to minimizethe bark damage by harvesting trees and residuesduring the non-growing season (winter, autumn)when the bark is less sensitive to damage. Forest machinery was mainly developed for flat ter-rains; however, the machines are increasingly usedon steeper grounds where they leave rills on thesurface of the soil and, in this way, causes the soilerosion. For this reason the use of flat terrainmachinery should be avoided, if possible, on steepareas. Climate changeClimate change results in a growing number ofstorms that destroy many trees in the forests. Thesetrees when split are no more useful for wood indus-tries and they will be increasingly used for energypurposes. The damaged trees attract the beetleswhich due to the climate change (shortage of water,air pollution, high temperature) spread not only ondamaged trees as they would normally do but alsoon the living ones. The attacked trees should be cutand the bark should be taken away so that theworms of the beetles would dry out and die. Stump harvestingStump harvesting requires a special attention asotherwise it can seriously damage the environment.Nevertheless, in some cases stumps harvesting canhelp to improve the conditions for new tree genera-tions. This is particularly the case when the surfaceof the soil is opened and the seeds of trees find bet-ter germination conditions than on unopened soils.Seedlings need mineral soil to germinate and stumpharvesting can help to increase the amount ofseedlings. In general the following criteria should be taken intoaccount for environmental friendly stump lifting. Stump lifting is acceptable in deep and fertile soilswhen a certain amount of stumps remain in the for-est to guarantee a sufficient amount of deadwoodwhich is a living area for insects, birds, reptiles etc.About 50 stumps per hectare are necessary to guar-antee the survival of such species. At least 5 metres zone should be left untouchedaround the living trees in order to prevent the dam-age of the living trees’ roots.The zone around ditches and rivers should be pro-tected to prevent the erosion of the soil. Stump lifting should be avoided on steep slopes.The opening of the soil could cause erosion andsubstantially decrease the fertility of the soil. Stump harvesting is not adequate on poor soils,moor lands and on ground water areasThe harvest of stumps that are less than 15 cm indiameter should be avoided as such fuel wouldn’tbe cost effective and would have a negative impacton environment. 14 15source UPMsource UPMRESTMAC project ’Creating Markets for Renewable Energy Technologies - EU RES technology marketing campaign’ aims at deve-loping and implementing a concise, well-targeted and thematic approach to ensure the dissemination and uptake of selected REStechnologies in the market. In other words the consortium works towards establishing a technology marketing campaign for thedifferent RE technologies involved. So far R&D formed a good basis for the outstanding industry development in the RenewableEnergy area. Nevertheless, the market uptake of these R&D results is not always happening in the best possible way and thereforeneeds to be improved. Lack of information and limited use of synergies between various stakeholders (industries, governments,investors..) are still the key critical barriers towards Renewable Energy Technologies. The renewable energy sectors to be marketed include: PV (photovoltaic), SHP (Small Hydro Power), Biomass, Geothermal, SolarThermal and Wind Power.RESTMAC project Supported byCONTACTSAbout the projectProject partners located in Renewable Energy HouseRue d’Arlon 63-651040 Brussels, BelgiumCoordinatorEREC – European Renewable Energy CouncilMs Christine LinsTel: +32 2 546 19 33Fax: +32 2 546 19 34Email: lins@erec-renewables.orgAEBIOM –European Biomass AssociationMs Edita VagonyteTel: +32 2 400 10 22Fax: +32 2 546 19 34Email: vagonyte@aebiom.orgWeb: www.aebiom.org EWEA - European Wind Energy AssociationMs Zoe WildiersTel: +32 2 546 19 88Fax: +32 2 546 19 44Email: zoe.wildiers@ewea.orgEPIA - European Photovoltaic Industry AssociationMs Eleni DespotouTel: +32 2 400 10 13Fax: +32 2 400 10 10Email: pol@epia.orgESHA – European Small Hydropower Association Ms Maria LagunaTel: + 32 2 546 19 45Fax: + 32 2 546 19 34Email: maria.laguna@esha.beEUBIA – European Biomass Industry AssociationMr Alexander AllanTel: +32 2 400 10 18Fax: +32 2 400 10 21Email: alexander.allan@eubia.orgEGEC - European Wind Energy Association Mr Philippe DumasTel: +32 2 400 10 24Fax: +32 2 546 19 34Email: p.dumas@egec.orgESTIF - European Solar Thermal Industry FederationUwe BrechlinTel: +32 2 546 19 37Fax: +32 2 546 19 39Email: uwe.brechlin@estif.orgProject partners outside REHADEME – French Environment and Energy Management AgencyMr Stéphane PouffaryTel: +33 4 93 95 79 55Fax: +33 4 93 65 31 96Email: stephane.pouffary@ademe.frNTUA – National Technical University of AthensMr Arthouros ZervosTel: + 30 210 772 1030Fax: + 30 210 772 1047Email: zervos@fluid.mech.ntua.grECB - Energy Centre BratislavaMr Roman DoubravaTel: +421 903 240 559Fax: +421 2 593 00097Email: doubrava@ecb.skGAIA - GAIA S.L. Consultores en gestion ambientalCipriano MarinTel: + 34 922 230 688Fax: + 34 922 200 951Email: cipriano.marin@islandsonline.org