How do we get through the winter with the impending gas crisis approaching? The European Commission wants European countries to use less gas as quickly as possible. Among other measures, it also looks at an all-time energy reserve available in rural areas of Europe: wood. There is currently an astonishingly large growing wood supply of 26 billion m3 there. A larger stock than at any time since the Middle Ages, steadily built up since the Second World War. Is wood indeed a suitable alternative energy source? How much energy does that produce? Will European forests suffer from a sudden increase in timber harvest?
To answer these questions it is good to look at some data. Currently, EU forests are experiencing a net growth of just over 800 million m3 per year. Only 500 million m3 is harvested, mainly industrial roundwood for construction and for the production of furniture and paper.
However, there is still a relatively large share of non-commercial fuelwood in the annual harvest: around 120 million m3 per year (see Figure 1). Non-commercial means that it is often produced by the approximately 20 million small private forest owners who produce it from their own estates and for their own use or the local market. These private forest owners own approximately 40% of Europe's forests. The commercial market for fuelwood (pellets and regional market chips) is still relatively small; approximately 20 million tons of pellets are produced. Together, these two forms produce around 60% of all renewable energy in Europe, or around 7% of total energy use (all sectors including transport and industry).
But is it possible to help Europe get through the winter using wood? No, we can be clear about that, that is not possible. Simply because the energy market is very diverse with many forms of raw materials as input and because our energy use is enormous. So what is possible?
Figure 1 shows that non-commercial production of fuelwood has gradually increased in recent decades. We also know that firewood prices have already doubled in the past year and more anecdotal information says yields have increased. How much the price has risen recently is difficult to say, as these statistics take a few years to compile. This information is usually produced as part of national forest inventories, but these always have a lag of a few years before the latest trends become apparent.
What will certainly happen if the energy supply becomes very tight is that forest owners will harvest more. Even if the wood is not completely dried, it ends up in stoves, usually in rural areas. No one can say at the moment whether this will be an extra harvest of 30 million or 100 million m3. But the capacity and facilities are there, and for a while some of the domestic heating can be covered.
A one-off extra harvest of 100 million m3 is no problem for European forests. This would still be subject to sustainability requirements of national laws and, for example, certification schemes such as FSC and PEFC. European forests can therefore cover 10-12% of total energy consumption for a while. This can be crucial in times of very tight energy supplies. So, without burning up all the forests, we see that forests are again a strategic reserve. A reserve that has captured the energy generated by the sun over the past 7-8 decades and stored it in its wood.
Source: Wageningen University & Research
