Wood in energy generation 2019

• In 2019, heating and power plants consumed a total of 20.5 million solid cubic metres (39,5 terawatt-hours) of solid wood fuels, being 2% more than in the previous year and more than ever before.

• The consumption of forest industry by-products and wood residues increased by 2% from the previous year to 11.7 million cubic metres. The consumption of bark was 7.9 million cubic metres (+3% from the previous year) and that of different types of sawdust 2.5 million (–4%), that of industrial chips 1.2 million (+9%) and that of other and unspecified by-products 0.2 million cubic metres (–22%). In addition, wood pellets and briquettes were burned 0.2 million (+4%) and that of recycled wood 1.1 million cubic metres (+13%).

• The consumption of forest chips at heating and power plants increased by 2% from 2018 to 7.6 million cubic metres. The majority of the forest chips, 3.9 million cubic metres, was manufactured from small-sized trees, i.e. from pruned and unpruned stems. The consumption of logging residues increased by 7% from the year before to 2.9 million cubic metres, being the highest volume ever recorded in the statistics. Furthermore, the consumption of large-sized decayed roundwood was 0.4 million and that of stumps was 0.3 million cubic metres.

• The consumption of forest chips in the combined production of heat and power was at the previous year’s level, totalling 4.7 million cubic metres. In heat production alone, consumption increased by 6% to 2.9 million cubic metres. Together with forest chips burned in small-scale housing (0.6 million cubic metres), the total consumption of forest chips amounted to 8.2 million cubic metres.

• The consumption of solid wood fuels at heating and power plants was the highest in the Central Finland region (2.0 million cubic metres), while the consumption of forest industry by-products was the highest in South Karelia (1.8 million cubic metres) and that of forest chips in Southwest Finland (1.0 million cubic metres).

Press release here

 Statistics for 2019 have been updated on 2nd November 2020