Bioenergy
Bioenergy is an environmentally friendly source of renewable energy that does not result in any emissions of fossil carbon, and can be considered carbon-neutral when organic biofuels are obtained from sustainable sources. Using bioenergy instead of energy obtained by burning fossil fuels helps to combat climate change while also reducing emissions of other harmful pollutants such as sulphur dioxide.Bioenergy can be obtained from:
- wood-based fuels;
- energy crops;
- biogas;
- the organic fractions of recovered fuels.
Biomass accounts for a larger share of energy consumption in Finland than in any other industrialised country. Wood and wood-based residuals from Finland’s large-scale pulp and paper industry, including black liquor derived from pulp-making processes, account for as much as 97.5 % of the bioenergy produced in Finland. Solid recovered fuels, biogas, energy crops like reed canary grass and organic liquid fuels make up the remaining 2.5 %.
Wood energy vital for Finland
Wood directly or indirectly accounts for as much as a fifth of the energy used in Finland. The largest users of wood energy are the forest industry companies, who produce large quantities of energy from residual wood such as bark, sawdust and woodchips, as well as the wood-based by-products of pulp and paper making processes, including black liquor.Logging residues from logged forests, such as treetops, branches and stumps, can additionally be used together with other by-products from the forest industry in the manufacture of liquid biofuels suitable for road vehicles. Related biorefining techniques and business concepts are currently being tested and developed in Finland.
Exploiting wood energy will become even more important as Finland strives to meet targets set out in the national climate and energy strategy for 2020. The strategy includes particularly ambitious growth targets for the use of wood chips made from logging residues, aiming that the amounts of energy generated from wood chips should triple by 2020.
