Carbon Neutral Energy

Wood is the original carbon neutral fuel. Burning wood for heat is an activity that man has been involved with for thousands of years. Around 60% of the world’s population still uses wood as its primary source of heat. However, in the last hundred and fifty years the western world has increasingly relied upon fossil fuels for its energy needs. As environmental issues become ever-more significant, a move away from fossil-fuel consumption towards renewable energy sources is becoming more important.

As trees grow they use energy from the sun to ‘fix’ carbon from the air, locking it into the wood of its trunk and branches. When we then burn wood we are converting this stored carbon in the wood back into carbon dioxide and releasing the stored solar energy as heat. Thus the trees are acting as a store of solar energy that we can convert back to heat when we need it most. The amount of carbon dioxide given off when burning wood is the same amount as the wood has stored while growing, and is the same as would be released if it were left to rot.

Wood as an Environmentally Friendly Alternative

The woodland that exists today in the UK does so because it used to have a purpose. They were managed effectively and the eco-systems that thrive in these woods today depend upon this.

Many of these woodlands are no longer managed as they do not have a use. They need to be managed to be sustainable so extracting wood for burning from them is not only part of the coppicing and management process but will also benefit the local economy and ensure the woodlands and its inhabitants continued survival. The higher demand there is for wood, the better our woodlands will be looked after and the more trees will be planted.

According to a Forestry Commission report published in 2007, using wood as a fuel not only produces far fewer carbon emissions than oil or gas but will help forest biodiversity, preserve areas of our countryside, reduce fuel bills and reduce the amount of wood we simply throw away in landfill.