FIRST WOODFUEL PELLETS MADE IN SCOTLAND

Forestry Commission Scotland, as the Scottish lead partner in the North Sea Bio Energy project, has demonstrated for the first time that pellet manufacture is technically feasible for a small rural business.

Two demonstration plants have been established in the north of Scotland, one in James Jones and Sons Ltd's sawmill using co-product from the mill, and in Norbuild Timber Fabrication and Fine Carpentry. Both are aimed at the small-scale producer market, encouraging the production (using locally available materials) and the distribution of wood pellets to a local market.

The development will provide a boost for local businesses in the North of Scotland that have been considering investing in this technology, but did not want to take the risk of buying expensive machinery that had not been operated in Scotland before.

It is now hoped that small-scale pellet production will be adopted on a commercial basis by Scottish rural businesses as they can learn from the technical and economic lessons experienced in this demonstration project.

Dan Gates, Woodfuel Officer for Forestry Commission Scotland, said:

“This has been a very exciting project as we have shown it is technically viable for a small businesses to do this – something that was in doubt two or three years ago when the project was proposed. In some ways, the next step is to do the testing to see if we can make this economically viable. We will have a range of data from this project which we can pass onto businesses so hopefully they can replicate this type of production facility. Ultimately more local production of this fuel will bring customers the confidence to use wood pellets for automated heating.

“Using wood pellets for the domestic heating market in a serious way has been a long term dream for many involved in the biomass sector, and we hope that we can follow the example of numerous other European countries and establish a credible domestic biomass industry.”

“It was very challenging, and we couldn’t have achieved the result without good support from James Jones and Sons Ltd. We are delighted that this has been achieved in Scotland.”

1. Wood pellets are made from compressed sawdust, and are well suited to smaller heating systems (under 30kW). Pellets are a good replacement fuel for oil, because the pellets are of consistent quality and tend to ‘flow’, so they are easy to transfer in bulk. Pellet stoves and boilers are very efficient with low emissions, and usually have programmable timers and even auto-ignition.
2. The compressed wood pellets are made by forcing wood particles through a 6mm die. These pellets are then used in automatic room heaters and central heating systems as a direct replacement for traditional central heating systems.
3. Heating accounts for 55% of Scotland's energy use, according to a report by Scottish Renewables. Biomass can be a cost effective way of reducing our carbon emissions and using local resources wisely.
4. Forestry Commission Scotland serves as the Scottish Executive's forestry department. It manages 668,000 hectares of national forest land for multiple benefits, including nature conservation, public recreation, timber production, and rural and community development; supports other woodland owners with grants, felling licences, advice and regulation; promotes the benefits of forests and forestry; and advises Ministers on forestry policy. For further information, visit www.forestry.gov.uk/scotland.

• Claire Martin, Forestry Commission Scotland press office, tel: 0131 314 6506
• Dan Gates, woodfuel information officer, tel: 01738 450793