Woodfuel, when supplied from local resources, is regarded as a low carbon source of energy as the amount of carbon dioxide released on combustion is equal to that which the tree absorbs while growing. Whilst not wholly “carbon neutral”, wood energy from local resources compares very favourably against all other forms of market-ready renewable and non-renewable energy technologies, both on installed cost per kilowatt and on carbon dioxide emissions.

Woodfuel is classed nationally and internationally as carbon neutral and has the lowest carbon impact of all the existing renewable energy technologies.  Woodfuel has the added benefit of being schedulable (i.e. it can release energy when you want it) and free of the geographic constraints that limit the uptake of geothermal energy sources.



Wood used for energy is either recovered as a by-product of a sustainable forestry crop, or is sourced from a range of clean waste streams. The replanting of harvested sites to create a sustainable supply of timber for all end-uses (woodfuel typically utilises the poor quality or waste material from forestry and timber processing operations) means that woodfuel production is part of a closed cycle, illustrated overleaf. Where fuel is derived from waste sources, it has the added benefits of utilising stored energy which would otherwise have been lost, and/or reducing landfill volumes.