The aim of our study was to determine the potential of forest woody waste biomass as a source of renewable energy. The research is a case study of one forest division in Poland.
The research was made in Staszów Forest Division, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, eastern Poland. The division is part of the Regional State Forest Directorate in Radom and covers a forest area of 19,335.12 ha. The research covers thinning and felling of forests, and was based on the forest management plan for 2012-21 and its inventory data. During the research basic features of forest stands, such as diameter and volume of aboveground, tree parts were determined. The annual growth of a timber stand in [m³/ha year] and the average age of the stand were analyzed to estimate the amount of obtained wood and biomass for energy generation.
The amount of wood waste that could be used to generate energy is 12,269 t annually both from harvest cutting and intermediate cutting, and additionally 7,267 t/year from wood processing. The energy that could be generated from this amount of woody biomass would allow for electrical power for 14,866 people and heating 3,153 one-family houses for a year. Therefore we claim that the energy obtained from the forest of an area of average rural community meets the needs of half of its inhabitants.