Abstract
Natural disturbances are common in Canadian boreal managed forests. For example, during and after insect epidemics, foresters must deal with significant amounts of degraded or dead wood that cannot be processed into sawn timber or pulp. Bioenergy could be an alternative pathway for this wood. A case study in Quebec (Canada) was used to evaluate the profitability of pellet production for bioenergy using degraded trees from insect epidemics. A bioenergy scenario was simulated in which degraded trees were harvested for bioenergy alongside sound wood for timber and pulp. This scenario was compared to a reference scenario in which degraded trees were left on cutovers. Using wood pellets as a case study, the results showed that at current market prices, harvesting degraded trees for pellet production is not as profitable as leaving them in the forest. Nevertheless, the overall forest operations for procuring wood for timber and pulp were still profitable, even with very high degradation levels. Procuring degraded trees reduced the overall fixed costs per harvested m3 and allowed average savings of C$2.83/harvested m3. The silvicultural savings associated with lower site preparation needs following procurement of degraded trees ranged from C$0/ha to C$500/ha, resulting in average savings of C$2.31/harvested m3. Depending on the stand conditions, the distribution of fixed costs and silvicultural savings of biomass procurement could be either low or significant.
Highlights
Bioenergy has high potential for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and can contribute to the transition of energy systems towards renewable and climate-friendly sources, when the most modern technologies are employed
Overall 50–70 these values areold, somewhat low, which could be explained the fact that stands in mature around years depending on the site fertility).byNevertheless, in included forest operations, this study were selected based on their degradation level and not on their maturity or volume; some stands that have not yet reached the age of maturity are often harvested when they are located within of the stands included in the analysis were not yet fully mature
Bioenergy harvesting operations for degraded wood following spruce budworm epidemics were found to be significantly less profitable than scenarios for which this material was left behind, if the current value of wood pellets was used as a proxy for the bioenergy market price
Summary
Bioenergy has high potential for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and can contribute to the transition of energy systems towards renewable and climate-friendly sources, when the most modern technologies are employed. Investment in a plant for the production of bioenergy is usually contingent upon access to feedstocks produced in a sustainable fashion; this access generally needs to be guaranteed over long periods of time (e.g., 20 years) at a relatively low cost to justify the initial investments. In Canada, boreal forests can potentially provide a long-term biomass supply for bioenergy [1,2]. The cost of the feedstock remains a key barrier to the large-scale deployment of bioenergy. There are three potential streams of forest biomass that are available from Canadian forests. The first (and likely most affordable) option is processing residues from wood products, for example chips and sawdust generated during the processing of lumber. The availability of wood processing residues is often low, especially in eastern Canada, since they are already widely used as feedstock
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