Switzerland is not fully exploiting a significant source of clean energy: 173 000 tonnes of reclaimed wood could be re-used as fuel for valuable heat and power energy today, in addition to the 644 000 tonnes of reclaimed wood already being used. This was the conclusion reached by a novel nationwide survey conducted by the Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) among 567 companies in the construction, waste management and transport sectors.
Nearly 1 million tonnes of reclaimed wood, wood accumulated on construction or demolition sites, arising from building renovations or conversions or in the form of packaging or crushed wood waste, was produced in Switzerland in 2014. Sustainable energy could have been generated out of 817 000 tonnes of this material, but only 644 000 tonnes of reclaimed wood was actually used producing heat or electricity.
According to WSL, at 80 percent efficiency, the additional amount of reclaimed wood available would suffice to supply heat some 80 000 homes during the cold season (from September to May) and provide enough power for 40 000 average homes.
The data is based on an unprecedented nationwide survey in Switzerland of 567 businesses that collect, transport and/or dispose of used wood. A team of WSL researchers led by Dr Oliver Thees ascertained how much reclaimed wood accrued in 2014 in all regions of Switzerland and which quantities were used in order to produce energy, were disposed of or were sold abroad.
In a newly published report, the authors explain how much potential there is to gain energy from reclaimed wood and how the utilisation of this raw material could develop in the future.
Opportunities for higher regional power production
Based on the survey’s results, the researchers compiled a robust database that reveals detailed information about the regional and nationwide build-up and utilisation of wood which has already been used. According to their findings, the canton of Bern has the greatest potential for sustainably re-using wood to generate energy. However, so much used wood is already converted into heat and electricity there that the current total could only be increased by 7 percent.
The greatest quantities, in absolute terms, of additionally available reclaimed wood that could be exploited as an energy source, are produced in these cantons: Basel Land (a potential increase of 95 percent), St. Gallen (43 percent), Solothurn (38 percent), Lucerne (27 percent) and Zurich (13 percent).
Energy production from used wood in these cantons could have been markedly increased in 2014, the year covered by the survey. Current, regionally differentiated data from the survey suggest that the aforementioned types of a company could draw on the researchers’ findings to plan their resource management, said project team member Matthias Erni.
Using more used wood in Switzerland increases value added
Although there is sufficient interest in the energy use of wood in Switzerland, in 2014 roughly one-third of the reclaimed wood was exported. The wood’s end users process it into particle board or use it to generate energy. Yet, if more reclaimed wood was used in Switzerland to produce heat and/or power, this would eliminate the need for numerous shipments of wood fuel abroad, which would save energy, lower costs and cut emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG).
