Wood fuel demand could create hundreds of jobs, seminar told

Hundreds of jobs could be created in forestry with the rising demand for wood as fuel over the coming years, an energy seminar heard today.

The conference in Co Clare was told that readily available wood is the cheapest renewable energy available and demand will soar as the world copes with surging oil prices.

Doirin Graham, chief executive of the County Clare Wood Energy Project (CCWEP), said the county was leading the way in developing the emerging market.

“In Clare alone, research indicates that over 170 jobs could be generated by the sector over the next 10 to 12 years,” she said.

Wood chip fuel is half the price of oil and was an increasingly safer, more secure and sustainable energy source than fossil fuels, according to Ms Graham.

“Wood chip heating, which is readily available in Clare, is by far the cheapest renewable energy technology to install per kilowatt,” she told the conference, attended by junior ministers Mary Wallace and Tony Killeen.

“If energy price and security is your concern, consider which is the greater risk – oil and gas from unstable regions of the world or a locally available abundant resource supplied in a competitive market?”

Wood chip boilers are already installed in Clare County Council headquarters, the Olympus offices in O’Callaghan’s Mills and at Cahercalla Community Hospital.

Mary Ryan, a forestry specialist for Teagasc and joint manager of the CCWEP, said the environmental credentials of wood would also boost its popularity as a fuel in the coming years.

“Wood fuel heating emits the least CO2 per unit of energy supplied of any energy technology,” she said.

“This will no doubt be a contributory factor to the growth of the sector as reducing our carbon footprint is becoming an important strategic goal for the commercial, industrial and public sectors.

“In Co Clare alone, the annual carbon levy saving per annum by 2020 from using wood chip is conservatively estimated at €1.53m.”