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Independent wood fuel broker
Woodland development support
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| Home | About Westwoods | Project news (archive) |
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Project
news (archive 01)
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General news and what's been happening in the Westwoods project. |
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June 9th 2010 - Westwoods scheme
launch
Held at Bush House on the Bristol
harbourside, the event was attended
by delegates from local authorities, the alternative energy sector,
estate owners and managers, and the media.
Below is a summary of each of the five speakers' presentations.
(Click on picture to enlarge image) |
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Andrew Harvey
Andrew is one of the two directors of Westwoods. He spoke of the need to create a viable infrastructure, facilitating the entire
supply chain from consumer to producer. New energy forms cannot rely solely on ethical or philosophical arguments but must be practical and economic.
The aim of the project is to establish ourselves as a trustworthy broker acting for the benefit of all parties. |
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Mark Prior
Mark is
the Woodfuel Partnership Officer for
the South West Regional Development
Agency on secondment from the
Forestry Commission.
Woodfuel is one of the ways to tackle climate change and
meet climate change targets.
Renewable sources need to quadruple
in next 10 years to meet EU
Renewable Energy Strategy target.
Biomass is important part of this. Key driver will be
Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI); if
this operates as per the
consultation paper it will halve
payback time of installations.
Woodfuel is a carbon-lean renewable
energy resource. Southwest has
nearly 120,000ha of under-managed
woodlands as well as sources from
current forestry, tree surgery
arisings, joinery offcuts, energy
crops, sawmill co-products and
reclaimed wood.
Demand for woodchip is increasing
throughout the UK and there's a need
to ensure fuel supply to build
confidence in the market. Westwoods
is a key player in this – organising
and streamlining the supply chain. |
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George Ferguson
George Ferguson is Chairman of
Ferguson Mann Architects and a
former president of the Royal
Institute of British Architects.
True to character, George opened his
address by saying that if you don’t
believe in climate change then you
are mad. It’s like saying that grass
doesn’t grow – just because you
can’t see it, it doesn’t mean it’s
not happening. Biomass boilers are
one of the ways forward for us to
combat climate change. He underlined
the importance of quality woodchip,
as he has seen a number of biomass
boilers that have been fed poor
quality fuel and the problems it
causes. |
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Paul Barker
Paul
is the Energy Management Officer at
Bristol City Council (BCC).
BCC has a 40% carbon reduction
target by 2020 and this is going to
be met by 'big wind' and the
installation of woodchip boilers.
Biomass has a high carbon saving and
provides financial paybacks. BCC has
been a leader in biomass production
and installations and understands
how woodfuel quality is essential to
the smooth operation of a boiler.
BCC has commissioned 7 more boilers
to be operational this year and
other local authorities are
following suit. BCC can self-supply
the existing boilers, but the
majority of newly-commissioned
boilers will need external wood fuel
supply (approx 1000 tonnes per
annum). As a customer requiring wood
fuel, BCC wishes to ensure that the
fuel is locally-grown, to the
correct specification, competitively
priced and delivered when needed.
Westwoods will help BCC to source
local wood fuel, ensure it's from a
sustainable source and to the
correct specification for the
boiler. |
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Mark Letcher
Mark
is a director of Westwoods.
Mark became involved with Westwoods
through his climate change
consultancy and recognises the
importance of biomass in reducing
carbon dioxide emissions. It takes
around 18 months to 2 years to
produce good quality woodchip once a
tree is felled and we need to plan
ahead to ensure a secure supply is
established.
Westwoods aims to stimulate local
production of biomass from local and
sustainably managed woodland, and
ensure a very high standard of
product. Westwoods' role is to
provide easy access to the woodfuel
market and promote confidence in the
fuel. Westwoods will act as a broker
between producers and users of
woodchip, assisting both parties
throughout the tendering process.
Quality assurance is key. Westwoods
will sample and test for moisture
content, chip size, bark content and
contaminants and this testing will
be part of the assurance prior to
the contract being taken out, and as
a matter of course during dispute
resolution.
We would like to encourage you to
join Westwoods - membership is free
and we are happy to discuss the
opportunities with you. We also need
to locate and secure depots or wood
stations around the area. |
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