Energy

We know the complexities involved with the supply of renewable materials from soil to factory to fuel. And we can help you get the most out of renewable energy.

Energy

The Renuables philosophy is to reduce energy consumption wherever possible. Where energy use cannot be avoided, then the preferred option is always to use renewable energy, provided that this does not lead to an increase of the environmental footprint of the process. We always use a systems approach to make the appropriate choices. We are strong supporters of the idea of extracting the maximum possible utility from any material prior to its use as a fuel source and for this reason we advocate the cascading of renewable materials down the value chain prior to incineration with energy recovery at end of life. We have been involved with research and development in a range of renewable energy projects.

Wood Fuel

Biomass satisfied 10.2% of global primary energy demand in 2008 (IEA, 2009), of which more than 80% was derived from wood (trees, branches and residues) (IPCC, 2007). The International Energy Agency (2009) predict that electricity production from biomass will increase worldwide, from a current level of 1.3% of total production to 2.4-3.3% by 2030.

From a recent study of ours for UPM-Kymmene Forestry, we showed that all of the wood-fuel systems we studied, including stump harvesting, offered at least a 60% improvement over coal, in terms of carbon balance (calculated in accordance with the method prescribed by the Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC)