Private forest owners play key role in European forest derived fuel utilization

The AFO (activating private forest owners to increase forest fuel supply) project was set up to discover the best tools for activating an important fraction of the 12 million PFOs (private forest owners) in Europe to supply wood fuel, especially to small and medium-sized heating plants. It aimed to increase the utilization of Europe's vast forest fuel reserves. This was expected to benefit both the economy of the forest owners and rural areas and increase the use of renewable energy sources. The project was carried out between 2009 and 2012. The project operated in selected target regions that have a high proportion of private forest ownership (France, Slovenia, Latvia and the UK). It started by analyzing the potential wood fuel supply and use in relation to current regional markets. After assessing through inquiries the potential wood fuel supply and demand and the parties involved, the next step was to initiate and support the formation of wood fuel supply clusters and organize supply chains. This was followed by the dissemination of best practice examples from Austria and Finland-countries with the most expertise and long traditions of forest fuel production. In the last phase of the project, results and approved activation methods were disseminated to all 27 EU (European Union) countries.