Wood in energy generation 2014

Forests and forestry

Economy and markets

Statistics

In 2014, heating and power plants consumed a total of 18.7 million solid cubic metres (35.9 terawatthours) of solid wood fuels, the same volume as the previous year.
The most important solid wood fuel used in the heating and power plants was forest chips, the consumption of which decreased, however, by 6 per cent year-on-year to 7.5 million cubic metres. Together with the forest chips burned in small-scale housing (0.7 million m³), total consumption reached 8.2 million cubic metres (–5% year-on-year).
Almost half, or 3.7 million cubic metres, of the forest chips consumed by the heating and power plants were manufactured from small-sized trees (pruned and unpruned stems). The second most common source was logging residues (2.6 million m³). The use of stumps as raw material for forest chips decreased from the previous year by nearly a third to 0.8 million cubic metres.
Heating and power plants consumed 3 per cent more forest industry by-products than in the previous year, a total of 10.2 million cubic metres. The main wood fuel used in burning in this category was bark, accounting for almost 70 per cent, or 7.1 million cubic metres, of the total.
Proportionally, the greatest increase in the consumption of different types of wood fuels was seen in the consumption of recycled wood (+13%).
The consumption of solid wood fuels was greatest in south-east Finland, where almost one-third of bark and nearly one-sixth of all solid wood fuels were burned. Most forest chips were burned in the Häme-Uusimaa region.