Maybe the UK should plant more....

[Mr. Ed]

On 09/06/2020 at 07:08, Big J said:

Portugal doesn't have our biomass requirements. 

 

We import 80% of our timber, including biomass. KRE in Kent is extensively fueled by euc chip from New Zealand. We just need to grow more of our own. 

 

It's not to say that we don't need farmland, but a lot of farmland is managed to maximise grant funding, rather than production. I don't agree with that. 

 

They are just impressive, and it's quite nice to think that starting out in forestry, you could conceivably see 3 rotations of 120ft trees in your working life.

Sounds like you know what you're talking about with Kent, which makes them look rather naughty with their statements like: "Fuel Suppliers – We use locally sourced wood fuel to generate heat and power from our biomass power plant. The South East of the UK used to be the home of several paper mills that provided a commercial market for local forestry, it also used to be the centre of home grown fencing materials in the UK. "

[Gary Prentice]

On 09/06/2020 at 07:08, Big J said:

We import 80% of our timber, including biomass. KRE in Kent is extensively fueled by euc chip from New Zealand. We just need to grow more of our own. 

According to their website they use locally sourced supplies. Maybe their definition is a bit different to mine. 

 

 

Kent Combined Heat and Power Plant is now officially open – Kent Renewable Energy Ltd

WWW.KENTRENEWABLELTD.COM

 

[Gary Prentice]

23 minutes ago, Mr. Ed said:

Sounds like you know what you're talking about with Kent, which makes them look rather naughty with their statements like: "Fuel Suppliers – We use locally sourced wood fuel to generate heat and power from our biomass power plant. The South East of the UK used to be the home of several paper mills that provided a commercial market for local forestry, it also used to be the centre of home grown fencing materials in the UK. "

Lots of 'used to be' in your post  Comment, not criticism.

 

I'd like to believe that I have a reasonable level of intelligence but no matter how I look at it I just can't see the environmental benefit of shipping woodchip from the other side of the world. Or destroying ancient woodland in the less advanced countries of Europe for chip or kiln dried logs? Or destroying the Amazon rain forests to plant a monoculture of palm oil producing trees. It just beggars belief!

 

We're a pretty ignorant species when all is said and done.

 

 

[The avantgardener]

10 minutes ago, Gary Prentice said:

According to their website they use locally sourced supplies. Maybe their definition is a bit different to mine. 

 

 

Kent Combined Heat and Power Plant is now officially open – Kent Renewable Energy Ltd

WWW.KENTRENEWABLELTD.COM

 

Euroforest have the contract to supply the wood fuel for the plant, they have bought chip wood from most of the larger jobs I have been on over the last few years. They import a lot from the Baltic states but I have never heard of them importing Eucalyptus from New Zealand. I know one of the buyers pretty well so I will ask him about it next time I see him.

[Gary Prentice]

3 minutes ago, The avantgardener said:

Euroforest have the contract to supply the wood fuel for the plant, they have bought chip wood from most of the larger jobs I have been on over the last few years. They import a lot from the Baltic states but I have never heard of them importing Eucalyptus from New Zealand. I know one of the buyers pretty well so I will ask him about it next time I see him.

Would be interesting to find out a little more. My post was based on Big J's comment, so if I'm wrong it's his fault 

 

Importing from the Baltic states is hardly local though and their sustainability rules, protection of virgin/ancient woodland is nothing to write home about.

[The avantgardener]

1 minute ago, Gary Prentice said:

Would be interesting to find out a little more. My post was based on Big J's comment, so if I'm wrong it's his fault 

 

Importing from the Baltic states is hardly local though and their sustainability rules, protection of virgin/ancient woodland is nothing to write home about.

There are large vessels docked there frequently, also docked at Shoreham near Brighton, they have been arriving since it opened and even more recently. The unprecedented amount of rain that we had late last year meant that a huge amount of timber was put on the ground, but none of it could be extracted until Boris kindly ordered 3 months of sunshine to correspond with his lockdown. I don’t know the figures but Euroforest certainly have an eye watering penalty clause if they can’t supply the chip quota.

[Big J]

I can't remember who it was who talked about the euc chip into KRE, but I had no reason to disbelieve them. 

 

They are renowned in the South West for sucking up timber from as far as the end of Cornwall and West Wales. A 350 mile haul. As you said, it's all down to avoiding penalties. 

 

I don't think much of their fuel comes from the South East, not as a percentage anyway.

[Mr. Ed]

to vulgarise the discussion, what do they pay for the chip?

[The avantgardener]

1 hour ago, Big J said:

I don't think much of their fuel comes from the South East, not as a percentage anyway.

Sussex is one of the most densely wooded Counties in the country, they take lots from here and Kent itself.

[Big J]

38 minutes ago, The avantgardener said:

Sussex is one of the most densely wooded Counties in the country, they take lots from here and Kent itself.

They take vast amounts from here, or so I'm lead to believe. Lorries drying past dozens of potential (and willing) customers to take the wood into Kent. Speaking to a haulier a few months back, he said he spent a full week just cross loading processor grade hardwood in the New Forest, all to go to KRE. 1500t just from that site.