fierwood shortage

[daveatdave]

with the announcement of a new bio fuel power station and drax already using bio fuel and several large companies using bio boilers i can see there could be a shortage of timber for firewood in the near future so the prices will rocket ?

dave

[Big Bolt]

they can only rocket so far then it will be back to what is cheapest , to be honest alot of people are being riped of now with some prices for c**p which is got for nothing in the first place .but as you rightly say we have good fire wood timber [ hardwoods ] being pushed into bio-fuel less hassel for the owner ,down this way a crying shame

[philthecat]

with the announcement of a new bio fuel power station and drax already using bio fuel and several large companies using bio boilers i can see there could be a shortage of timber for firewood in the near future so the prices will rocket ?

dave

 

Drax just announced it's not going to burn biofuel after all...

 

Drax power plant suspends plan to replace coal with greener fuel - Times Online

 

however I think you are right in that supply will become tight as more folk burn all types of biofuel. Some cowboys are and will continue to fleece cutomers but I think if you have a good product at a fair price and a good delivery service you will do OK

 

Phil

[clueless]

thats an interesting article and very unfortunate if thats the shape of things to come. some interesting comments at the bottom of it. i think theres a few guys on here who supply drax, maybe they can offer first hand views on it?

[Arran Woodfuels]

 

Just for the sake of clarity, it's biomass (from trees) they are burning. Biofuel is made from plants and is usually a liquid fuel used in vehicles, and the like.

[philthecat]

Just for the sake of clarity, it's biomass (from trees) they are burning. Biofuel is made from plants and is usually a liquid fuel used in vehicles, and the like.

 

slip of the fat fingers on the keyboard - quite right. I heard that Biomass has to be top grade to be accepted - right moisture content etc or they will bounce it at the gate

[mdt]

we have just supplied drax with 200+ big square bales of miscanthus, what will happen to this years supply of miscanthus i dont know!!

[woodworm]

I personnally would not plant or grow a single stem of biomass crops for any uk power station. Look at the Arbre project. I only know of one person who ever earned one single penny from that and thats coz he sold a 10000 tonne stockpile of woodchip to them and the power station paid for it and then closed before they had taken ANY of it. He then sold it again. Many farmers had planted willow coppice for Arbre and were totally left in the lurch. Arbre just proved that it was unviable to run a power station on biomass, UNLESS it is supplying the waste heat as another saleable product.

[daveatdave]

i have just read in the local rag that john smiths brewery in tadcaster has shut there 2 biomass boilers down due to emission problems but hope to start them up again after modifications

[gensetsteve]

I dont think there will be shortage of wood. There may be a shortage of fools like us processing. I bet there is few businesses that invest 50% of their turnover in raw material 9 months before they have a hope of seeing any money. Someone once told me the bulk log business was delivering the unprofitable for the ungrateful.