Can Sustainable Timber Plantations Supply Power?

Once again, we are going to give you a break from the typical timber sales blog and tell you about something that could extend far beyond Australia in importance.

We talk a lot about sustainable timber here because we want to leave a great world to our children and their children and their children. The benefits of using sustainable timber are greatly documented. Sustainable timber helps fight climate change because it stores carbon and has a negative “carbon footprint,” meaning it helps save endangered species of wildlife.

But Clare Scriven, State Manager of the Australian Forest Products Association South Australia (AFPA-SA), has suggested yet another use that could be a game-changer: use plantation timber waste as biofuel to supply electrical power.

Timber waste, residues and offcuts can all be used for power in many ways. For example, it can be used to power the drying kilns in timber processing plants. While this would reduce the industry’s power consumption from the grid, there is even a better use.

Timber waste can be turned into biofuel to power electrical power plants. The energy that is released from trees when they are burned is made by sunlight whose energy is stored by trees.

Timber waste can be turned into pellets which burn cleanly due to low moisture content.

When the timber is grown on an ecologically responsible plantation, timber waste makes carbon-neutral biofuel. Since most electricity is produced by fossil fuels, turning timber waste into biofuel would have a large impact on our environment.

Will turning timber waste into biofuel solve all of our environmental and energy problems? Of course not. But it would be yet another way for the timber industry to help make the world a better place.

Are You Looking for Timber Sales in Brisbane or Sydney?

At Narangba Timbers, we not only provide high quality timber from sustainable sources, we do it at a lower cost than the competition. Call Narangba Timbers today to find out just how low our prices are on 1300 477 024.