Kerry aims for wood fuelled energy efficiency

WOODCHIP from Co Kerry forests has been put at the centre of plans to make the Kingdom an energy-efficient self-sustaining region, transforming the local economy base through job creation.

A wood-harvesting co-op is being set up to assemble 50,000 cubic metres of woodchip from the county’s 55,000 hectares of forest, owned by about 1,400 local farm families. Use of this fuel will generate 50 MW of heat and 12 MW of electricity. At current prices, the woodchip will be €8 million cheaper than the 10.6 million litres of oil it will replace, and 112 jobs can be generated in woodchip production.

Kerry forests planted in the 1980s and 1990s are now ready for thinning, a maintenance process which adds 25% to final timber value for the owners.