WOOD ENERGY AND CLEANTECH project for the Development of Sustainable Clean Wood Energy in Central Baltic region

Project information Aim - to increase knowledge and interest among the forest owners and other stakeholders about bioenergy and sustainable development in the Baltic Sea region. Tasks: promote wood as an energy source and improves knowledge about wood energy, eco-friendly techniques and clean technologies; develop regional action plans and strategies on how to raise the efficiency of wood energy; lead to a higher level of skills by knowledge transfer in district heating as well as in forestry. Project focus: A cross-sectoral and transnational approach where forestry, wood supply, energy production and energy distribution are investigated and analyzed. Project duration: 2010–2012

Wood as energy source Wood energy has been a traditional energy source. Even in modern times an important part of assortment from the forest was fuelwood for heating. Between 1950s and 1990s the energy sources for heating changed to fuel oil, fossil gas, coal, and electricity. In a time of rising oil prices, global warming and sustainable solutions, there is an emerging interest in wood energy caused by: awareness and knowledge of pollution and global warming; price levels and not reliable and satisfactory supply of oil and gas in recent years; highly efficient wood energy boilers, combined heating and power production (CHP) and novel distribution systems; increasing number of regions with formulated renewable energy strategies and stable rules for investments. Wood Energy Project promotes wood as an energy source and improves knowledge about wood energy

Project regions Land area and population density in the Project countries and regions Östergötland County Vidzeme Planning Region South Estonia Region The forest cover in the Östergötland County of Sweden is 66%, in South Estonia and the Vidzeme Planning Region of Latvia this figure is about 50%. The productive forest land is about 90% of the entire forest area. Private non-industrial forest owners manage about 50% of forestlands in the Östergötland County, about 39% in Vidzeme and 35% in South Estonia.

Project partners SWEDEN County Administrative Board of Östergötland – the leading organization of the Project Swedish Forest Agency ESTONIA Estonian University of Life Sciences Private Forest Centre LATVIA Vidzeme Planning Region Forest Advisory Service Centre

Products and outputs Project web pages for each Project country and organization; reports; extension materials for forest owners, guidelines and strategies for forest management; information brochure about forest sector and wood energy in the Project regions; Project newsletters; exhibition about the forest sector in Project regions; movie about wood energy; various pilot projects in each Project country.

Brochure Brochure “Wood energy – a hot topic” is about wood energy in the Project regions, with information useful for decision makers, foresters, forest owners and general public

Ongoing activities Seminars Workshops Benchmarking Study tours Competence inventories

News