Estimation of potential production of energy wood in the Leningrad region of Russia

Abstract

The forests of the Russian Federation are the world’s largest reserve of wood for different purposes. In order to satisfy the growing demand for wood, forestry in Russia has to be intensified. This study analysed energy wood resources in the Leningrad region of Russia, in the context of intensification of forestry and technical, socio-economic and climatic issues. The assessment was done using the resource-focused approach and statistical, spatial and cost-comparative analyses. Three scenarios of energy wood availability, based on different intensities of forestry, were analysed at regional and district levels to compare the efficiency of wood supply chains, to estimate employment effects of forest chip production and to analyse cost competitiveness of forest chips. The impact of climate change on the technical accessibility of forests and harvestable volumes of industrial and energy wood was analysed. In the scenario Allowable, the availability of energy wood increased from 4.1 to 6.3 Mm 3 (+54%) compared with the scenario Recent. In the scenario Potential, the total volume of available energy wood would be 9.2 Mm 3 (+124% compared with scenario Recent). Comparable results were obtained at the district level, +50% and +83%, respectively. The average productivity of logging operations in the Russian companies investigated was 20% to 30% lower than that in Finland. The employment effect from the utilisation of energy wood depended on the availability scenarios and the type of chipper used. The number of employment positions could be increased by 84% in the scenario Potential compared with the scenario Recent. Forest chips were 2–3 times more expensive than natural gas and coal but cheaper than heavy oil. Each decade, the duration of the winter felling season will become 3-4 days shorter. By 2015, the potential losses of a typical large logging company due to the technical inability of entering forests could be about 360 000 euro. The study area has large available volumes of energy wood but their utilisation is limited by technical and economic factors. The methodology proposed in this study could help logging companies and local authorities predict economic and social effects from the utilisation of energy wood.