Fire up the new green fuel: wood

AS many as one in 10 of Scotland's homes could be heated by a humble new fuel that is renewable, affordable and could dramatically cut pollution - wood.

That is the conclusion of a new report by government advisors due to be published tomorrow. It calls on ministers to invest in supporting the growth of an indigenous wood fuels industry, which could provide much-needed jobs in rural areas.

The report is from the Sustainable Development Commission in Scotland, set up to encourage ministers to adopt more environmentally friendly policies. It estimates that replacing oil, coal and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) with wood would cut carbon dioxide emissions by 80-per cent or more.

Burning wood chips, pellets or logs in boilers is regarded as "carbon neutral" because it only releases the carbon absorbed when the trees were growing. Wood-fired central heating schemes would be most competitive in the northwest, where there is no access to the natural gas grid.

Hugh Raven, a member of the commission, said: "With a reasonable level of take-up, likely to be in rural areas, almost a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions from Scotland's domestic space and water heating could be cut." Wood-burning boilers would also help tackle fuel poverty.

"This is a rare opportunity for the Scottish Executive to meet several of its policy objectives simultaneously, " Raven added. "We have the wood, we have the rural communities with ample forestry industry skills, and we need the heat." Large volumes of timber from conifers planted in the 1960s and 1970s are due to be harvested in Scotland over the next two decades. Up to a million tonnes of oven- dried wood a year could become available, enough to supply between 5- per cent and 11-per cent of all Scotland's domestic space and water heating.

The report was welcomed by the Scottish Renewables Forum, which represents the industry in Scotland.

Chief executive, Maf Smith, said: "We've seen what government support can do to take renewable electricity schemes forward. We now need the same emphasis on renewable heating schemes."

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