European forests are performing well. During the past decade, the quantity of biomass has doubled, due to active management focusing on sustainability. Within the total forested area of approximately 175 million ha, only half of the annual growth is harvested. As a result, a great deal of biomass has built up.
Regional distribution of suitability of European forests for providing biomass for Bio-energy (study on behalf of the European Environment Agency).
With the current high oil prices and the vehement discussions about the disadvantages for the world food supply of obtaining energy from agricultural crops (first generation biofuels), the possibilities for obtaining energy from non-food crops (second generation biofuels) are becoming increasingly attractive. This second generation includes woody biomass from forests or landscaping.
Research conducted by Alterra (part of Wageningen UR) and the European Forest Institute in Finland has shown that current European forests could supply about 4% of the total energy needs of Europe: 78 Mtoe (million tonnes of oil equivalent) compared to a total consumption of 1767 Mtoe. This estimate takes account not only of the existing demand for from paper and would production, but also of the desired conservation of the natural values of the forest.
The wood for biofuels from European forests can primarily be found in Central Europe, where the difference between annual growth and regular harvest is the greatest. The fuel can partly be obtained from the forestry waste that is now left behind when the trees are harvested, and from additional harvesting. The best way to use wood as a biofuel is to first use it for the production of regular products and then burn the remaining wood for energy.
To mobilise this biomass, the European paper industry can be an important partner, because it already has a network comprising many of the millions of private forest owners in Europe. In addition, measures must be taken to prevent the additional demand for biomass from leading to unfair competition with regular industry. Without these measures, the subsidised use of biomass as a biofuel could be disastrous for regular industry. This could lead to the regular industry shifting to Russia, which would significantly increase the pressure on virgin forests there.
To mobilise the biomass, action programmes are required that lead to cooperation between forest owners, quality improvement in the sector and improvement throughout the chain, from forest to final product. For this purpose, the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality recently initiated a Biomass Action Plan.