Availability of local woody biomass for large-scale energy production in the Netherlands

CIO, Center for Isotope Research IVEM, Center for Energy and Environmental Studies

Master Programme Energy and Environmental Sciences University of Groningen

Availability of local woody biomass for large-scale energy production in the Netherlands Case study: Vattenfall biomass plant in Utrecht

Pieter Broekema

EES 2013-164 M

Master report of Pieter Broekema Supervised by: Dr.ir. S. Nonhebel (IVEM) Prof.dr. H.C. Moll (IVEM) B. Dehue, MSc (Vattenfall-Nuon)

University of Groningen CIO, Center for Isotope Research IVEM, Center for Energy and Environmental Studies Nijenborgh 4 9747 AG Groningen The Netherlands http://www.rug.nl/fmns-research/cio http://www.rug.nl/fmns-research/ivem

I. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank dr. ir. S. Nonhebel for her support, scientific insights and encouragement and my supervisor from Vattenfall, B. Dehue MSc for his humor, practical hints and useful involvement.

II. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 9 1.1 MOTIVATION ......................................................................................................... 9 1.2 GOAL OF THE RESEARCH .................................................................................... 9 1.3 SCOPE ...................................................................................................................... 9 1.4 STRUCTURE ......................................................................................................... 10 1.5 BIOMASS CLASSIFICATION ................................................................................ 10 2. CASE STUDY: VATTENFALL BIOMASS PLANT IN UTRECHT .................................. 11 2.1 MOTIVATION CASE .............................................................................................. 11 2.2 THE CASE .............................................................................................................. 11 2.3 WOODY BIOMASS PROCESSING ........................................................................12 2.4 DEMAND AND SUPPLY ........................................................................................ 13 2.5 PRICE AND INCENTIVES ..................................................................................... 14 2.6 CATCHMENT AREA, CONTRACT AND TERM .................................................... 15 3. INVENTORY OF MAIN WOODY BIOMASS FLOWS IN THE NETHERLANDS ......... 17 4. AVAILABILITY OF WOODY BIOMASS FOR ENERGY ............................................... 21 4.1 SELECTION ............................................................................................................ 21 4.2 RESULTS OF THE INTERVIEWS ........................................................................ 23 4.2.1 PRIMARY BY-PRODUCTS ........................................................................... 23 4.2.1.1 FOREST EXPLOITATION ................................................................ 23 4.2.1.2 LAND-USE CHANGE ....................................................................... 25 4.2.1.3 ORCHARDS ...................................................................................... 25 4.2.1.4 ROAD SIDE CHIPS .......................................................................... 27 4.2.2 SECONDARY BY-PRODUCTS ..................................................................... 28 4.2.2.1 SAWMILLS ....................................................................................... 28 4.2.2.2 WOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY .................................................. 30 4.2.2.3 ORGANIC WAST PROCESSING INDUSTRY ................................... 31 4.2.3 TERTIARY BY-PRODUCTS ......................................................................... 33 4.2.3.1 RECOVERED WOOD ....................................................................... 33 4.3 Overview…………………………………………………………………………………………………….34 5. CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................... 39 6. DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................. 41 6.1 BOUNDARIES ........................................................................................................ 41 6.2 SUPPLY VERSUS EXPECTED DEMAND ............................................................. 41 6.3 RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................ 42 7. REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 43 APPENDIX A: INTERVIEWS ...................................................................................... 47

III. ABSTRACT Several potential studies have demonstrated that there is a relatively high potential for the combustion of local woody biomass. Vattenfall investigates the feasibility of building a plant in Utrecht, which will fully run on woody biomass. The plant will for the largest part make use of biomass originated from the Netherlands. The availability of local woody biomass is an important factor in the development of this plant. Therefore, we investigate the availability of local woody biomass for the Vattenfall biomass plant. Also, we investigate the factors that determine this availability. We estimated the available volume of woody biomass for the Vattenfall biomass plant to be around 1130 ktonodt per annum. This is a significant smaller volume than the volume estimated in currently existing potential studies, We are able to explain this difference by several factors. Important factors are the lack of clear-fellings in Dutch forests, other functions for forests than wood production, relatively high logistical costs to collect woody biomass from orchards and road sides and the existence of competing industries. Four potential options to increase the actual availability of woody biomass are the reduction of logistical costs via umbrella organizations, a change in the willingness of supply of nature conservation organizations, the combustion of grass and the import of woody biomass.

IIII. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS & CONVERSION FACTORS Odt CHP Pa m3 kton tonxx% kW MW

Oven dry ton Combined Heat and Power Per annum Cubic meter 1000 ton Ton biomass with moisture content of xx% Kilowatt Megawatt

GJ

Gigajoule

1 m3 of fresh woody biomass ≈ 1 kton45% of fresh woody biomass 1 ton45% of biomass = 0.55 tonodt of biomass

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Motivation To meet the European renewable energy goals, the Netherlands has set a target of producing 16% of its gross final energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020 (Rutte & Samsom, 2012). In order to meet these goals, the Dutch government stimulates renewable energy production. Consequently, energy companies develop assets for renewable energy production. Several potential studies have demonstrated that there is a relatively high potential for the combustion of local woody biomass (Koppejan et al., 2009; Spijker et al., 2007; Kuiper & de Lint, 2008; de Vries et al., 2008). Dutch energy companies respond to these findings by developing biomass plants. For example, Vattenfall investigates the feasibility of building a new biomass plant in Utrecht. The new dedicated plants, which will fully run on biomass, will for the largest part make use of biomass originated from the Netherlands and its direct surroundings. Not only energy companies make increasingly use of local woody biomass, but also the number of local initiatives is growing (Algemene Vereniging Inlands Hout [AVIH], 2012). For instance, energy intensive sectors, like greenhouses, increasingly make use of small biomass boilers for the production of heat, sometimes in combination with power, which often combust regional biomass. As a consequence, the demand for local woody biomass is expected to grow significantly in the next decade. Hence, the available volume of biomass for energy companies is an increasingly important factor for the development of new biomass energy plants. Arguably, the woody biomass that is available for energy companies is smaller than the theoretical availability, because it has to meet price and quality criteria. Therefore, this study investigates the availability of local woody biomass for large-scale energy production in the Netherlands. In this study we will zoom in on the biomass plant that will be built by Vattenfall in Utrecht. We will use the price and quality criteria of the Vattenfall plant to determine the availability. This case study allows us to investigate the real market, which could lead to profound insights in the actual availability and the factors that affect the availability of local woody biomass for large-scale energy production in the Netherlands. This is scientifically important, but it is not hard to imagine how it is also of great importance to policy makers and to investors in bio-energy. 1.2 Goal of the research The goal of the research is (i) to determine the “availability of local woody biomass for the plant that is currently developed by Vattenfall” and (ii) to assess “the factors that determine this availability”. The price and quality of the biomass potential are important factors taken into account in this research. Those factors are, generally speaking, often not included in other studies done before. 1.3 Scope The scope of this research is determined by the specific features of the Vattenfall biomass plant. Therefore, this study focuses only on woody biomass for combustion, but not on other types of biomass. Also, a geographically boundary is set; this study will limit itself to the area of the Netherlands1.

1

Excluding overseas territories

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1.4 Structure Chapter 2 describes the case study of the Vattenfall biomass plant and the background of the local woody biomass market. Subsequently, the main woody biomass flows in the Netherlands are identified and categorized in chapter 3. Chapter 4 gives the availability of woody biomass for the Vattenfall biomass plant in Utrecht. The factors that determine this availability are discussed in the same chapter. The conclusions are formulated in chapter 5, whereas in chapter 6 the limits of the research are discussed. Recommendations are included in the same chapter. 1.5 Biomass classification Within this study the biomass is classified on basis of its place in the supply chain. This classification is derived from the study of Spijker et al. (2007). Main products other than by-products Primary by-products are by-products which are released at the source. Distinctive of these by-products is that they are usually not harvested, because it costs money to collect them. Secondary by-products are by-products that are released in the processing of the wood. For example, sawdust that is released during sawing of round logs. In contrast to primary byproducts, it costs no money to collect them. Tertiary by-products are products that are released after they lost their function for their initial purpose, like demolition wood.

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2. CASE STUDY: VATTENFALL BIOMASS PLANT IN UTRECHT 2.1. Motivation case A biomass power plant, which is currently developed by Vattenfall-Nuon, is used as a case study. This power plant is chosen for multiple reasons. First, the power plant will be centrally located in the Netherlands (Utrecht) which implies that the catchment area of the plant covers all of the Netherlands. Second, the data on the required volume, quality and price are exactly known. Finally, the plans for the biomass plant currently consider both fresh wood and recovered wood. Therefore, it covers the whole range of local woody biomass. 2.2 The case Vattenfall is investigating the feasibility of building a dedicated biomass power plant, which will run on woody biomass mostly originating from the Netherlands and its direct surroundings. The biomass plant will specifically be designed to burn lower qualities of biomass. The dedicated biomass plant will produce electricity and heat. This combined heat and power plant (CHP) will have an efficiency of around 80-90% (Biomass Innovation Centre [BIC], 2012). This is in contrast to older biomass plants, which produce only electricity with efficiencies of about 25%. A typical CHP plant is displayed in figure 1. The way the plant operates is explained in short. The woody biomass is delivered and stored (i). Subsequently, it is conveyed to an oven, where it is burned (ii). The combustion of the woody biomass produces heat, which is used to create steam (iii). The steam rotates a turbine, which generates electricity (iv). When the steam exits the turbine it still has a relatively high temperature (BIC, 2012). In the CHP plant this heat will be captured and used for city heating in Utrecht (v).

Figure 1: Schematic view of a combined heat and power biomass plant (BIC, 2012)

The specific features of the Vattenfall biomass power plant are listed in table 1 (DeHue, personal interview, July, 2012). The plant will be one of the largest biomass plants in the Netherlands, regarding to capacity and woody biomass consumption. Other large biomass plants are of RWE-Essent (maximum of 250 kton45%) in Cuijk, Twence (140 kton20%), HVC Alkmaar (170 kton20%), AVR Rozenburg (150 kton20%) and Amer 9 (150 kton20%) (AVIH, 2012).

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Table 1: Features of the Vattenfall biomass plant in Utrecht Features General Location: Electric capacity: Thermal capacity: Total required volume of woody biomass pa: Price Maximum price per ton of fresh wood2: Maximum price per ton of recovered wood2: Quality Fuel type Fuel category Ash content: Particle size, x : Moisture content, y : Volume Minimum volume by supplier Period Minimum period of supply

Utrecht 20 MW 60 MW 250 kton45% EUR 463 EUR 253 Fresh wood, recovered wood Chips, shreds < 1% 2 mm<x<4 cm 20%
The plant will be able to combust both fresh wood and recovered wood. Fresh wood obviously originates from forests, but also from landscape areas. It is often released during the maintenance of forests, roads, parks and other green areas. Fresh wood is also released as a by-product at sawmills. The fresh wood quality varies in moisture content, particle size and ash content. In contrast to recovered wood, fresh wood has usually a moisture content of about 45%. Two kinds of recovered wood are combusted, namely “A-wood” and “B-wood”. “A-wood” is unconditioned wood (no coating etc.), only mechanically treated and which is not polluted during use with non-natural substances; examples are pallets, boxes, unconditioned solid demolition wood, unconditioned wooden furniture, fibres and chips from the wood processing industry. The class “B-wood” comprises glued woods and boards, coated woods, laminated chip- and fibreboards and other treated woods but without organic halogens and wood preservatives (Dehue, personal interview, July, 2012). Recovered wood usually has a moisture content of about 20%. The higher the moisture content of biomass, the less GJ per volume ton is released in the combustion. For instance, in the combustion of one ton of fresh wood approximately 9,5 GJ is released compared to 14 GJ in the combustion of recovered wood (Lensink et al., 2012). 2.3 Woody biomass processing Woody biomass is usually pre-processed before it is combusted. Three common preparatory treatments are shredding, chipping and pelletizing. • A shredder breaks the biomass to reduce its size. It is a relatively rough method and is therefore the least sensitive to biomass contaminated with stones or sand. Shreds are the least uniform of composition, because the length smoothness and width are not equal of shreds (Boosten et al., 2009).

2

Delivered at the plant Based on the price described in the advisory report of ECN & KEMA to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovations [9]; based on a calorific value of 9,5 GJ per ton

3

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•

•

Chipping is the process of cutting the biomass to reduce its size. Chips can, depending on the quality, vary in size from some millimetres to a couple of centimetres (Boosten et al., 2009). Because chipping is done with knifes the biomass should not be contaminated. Chips are relatively uniform of composition. Pelletizing is the process of compressing or molding the biomass into the shape of a pellet. The pellet diameter can vary from ca. 3 mm to 1 cm (Spijker et al., 2007). Pelletizing is mainly done to increase the density of the biomass and therefore to minimize transportation costs. Pellets are often imported from Canada and Russia (Dehue, personal interview, July, 2012). Pelletizing increases the total processing costs and pellets are therefore more expensive than chips and shreds.

Obviously, the higher the quality of processed woody biomass, the higher the price. Pellets are of higher quality than chips and chips are of higher quality than shreds. Within these categories the quality can vary depending on the feedstock and the processing steps applied. Since the biomass plant will specifically be designed to burn lower qualities of biomass, pellets will not be combusted in the power plant. 2.4 Demand and supply As mentioned before, the locally sourced biomass can be divided into two main streams: fresh wood and recovered wood (A- and B-wood). In figure 2 the demand for woody biomass for energy production in the Netherlands is displayed by category (AVIH, 2012). 700

woody biomass, kton

600 500 400 300 200 100 0 B-wood, kton20%

A-wood, kton20%

Fresh wood kton45%

Figure 2: Demand for local woody biomass in the Netherlands for energy production by category of biomass in 2011 (AVIH, 2012)

The figure shows that currently more recovered wood is burned than fresh wood. This is obvious because of the lower price of recovered wood compared to the price of fresh wood (Lensink et al., 2012). Several other energy companies also plan to build new biomass plants. To give an indication of the future market, the expected demand is compared with the theoretical supply from the literature (see figure 3a and 3b) (Kuiper & de Lint, 2008; AVIH, 2012). The expected demand consists of the current demand plus the planned demand. The current demand consists of the demand for local woody biomass of all the biomass plants currently running in the Netherlands (AVIH, 2012). Whereas, the planned demand consists of the demand for local woody

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biomass of all the biomass plants which are currently developed by the energy industry4 (Dehue, personal interview, July, 2012). It seems that there will be no scarcity in the recovered wood market in the coming decade (figure 3a). However, the potential supply of recovered wood includes all the recovered wood in the Netherlands. Problematic though is that the demand for recovered wood by other users, like the chip board industry, is not subtracted from the potential supply.

Figure 3a: The theoretical supply versus the expected recovered wood demand (Kuiper & de Lint, 2008; AVIH, 2012)

Figure 3b shows that the potential supply from the literature is slightly larger than the expected demand,

Figure 3b: The theoretical supply versus the expected fresh wood demand (Kuiper & de Lint, 2008; AVIH, 2012)

2.5 Price & incentives The price Vattenfall is able to pay for an amount of biomass depends on the total costs, the energy price and subsidies from the government. The governmental subsidy is aimed at compensating the difference between production costs of fossil energy and the higher production costs of renewable energy. The height of the subsidy is determined by independent companies and institutes, like DNV-KEMA and ECN (Energy Centre Netherlands). Currently, the main instrument of the government to reach the required share of electricity and heat from renewable sources is the so-called SDE+ (Stimulation of Sustainable Energy 4

These plants are planned to be built within 5 years

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Production, “Stimulering Duurzame Energieproductie”) 2012 subsidy (Agentschap NL, 2012). Companies and institutes that want to produce renewable electricity can receive a subsidy for the amount of renewable energy they have produced. Since 2009 not only renewable electricity production is subsidized, but renewable heat generation as well. The MEP (Environmental Quality of the Electricity Production, “Milieukwaliteit van de Elektriciteitsproductie”), the precursor of the SDE+, was ceased in 2006. The MEP subsidy had been in place for a period of ten years. Currently, some power plant owners still receive this subsidy (Agentschap NL, 2012). 2.6 Catchment area, contract and term The sourcing area of Vattenfall is not unlimited, due to transportation costs. It costs about EUR 10/ton45% to transport woody biomass a distance of maximally 120 km (Siero, personal interview, July, 2012). This gives a maximum distance from Utrecht of 550 km. However, this would imply a biomass price of EUR 0. Arguably, this is not the case in the real market. In practice, the maximum range is about 200 km from the Dutch border. Although the plant is only planned to start running in 2016, there are already negotiations with potential suppliers. Important in these negotiations are, other than price and quality, the volume of supply, the period of supply and the guarantee of supply. These conditions are important to energy companies for cost, logistical and risk minimizing reasons. Vattenfall is willing to have a maximum of ten suppliers, a contract for minimally three years and a guarantee of supply. This implies that one supplier should be able to deliver annually at least 25 kton45% of woody biomass.

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3. INVENTORY OF MAIN WOODY BIOMASS FLOWS IN THE NETHERLANDS The local woody biomass market was analysed, while having the specific price and quality conditions of the Vattenfall biomass plant in mind. However, before getting to the actual availability of local woody biomass, the main woody biomass flows were first identified. Five steps were taken to identify and categorize the main woody biomass flows in the Netherlands. 1. All the existing articles on the theoretical availability of woody biomass in the Netherlands of the past 5 years were selected The studies that were found are the study of Koppejan et al. (2009), Spijker et al. (2007), Kuiper & de Lint (2008) and the study of de Vries et al. (2008). 2. Selection of main biomass flows in the Netherlands, based on the size of their potential in the existing literature From these studies all the biomass flows were extracted. For every flow the theoretical potential was listed. Subsequently, the flows were arranged on the size of their theoretical potential. When studies had different outcomes for a single flow, the average was taken. Finally, flows were selected with a theoretical potential of over 25 kton45%. Only these flows were selected, because smaller flows were not considered of interest for large-scale energy production (see chapter 2). The flows that were found are listed in table 2. These flows are more elaborately discussed in chapter 4. Table 2: The selected woody biomass flows. These flows were extracted from the study of Koppejan et al. (2009), Spijker et al. (2007), Kuiper & de Lint (2008) and de Vries et al. (2008) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

Selected biomass flow Round logs Tree stumps Tops and branches Non-commercial thinning Off-spec Residential firewood Bark (sawmill) Chips (sawmill) Sawdust (sawmill) Sawdust (wood processing industry) Recovered wood, class A Recovered wood, class B Recovered wood, class C Road side chips Landscape management material Residential pruning Orchard waste

3. Categorization of the main woody biomass flows The selected biomass flows were categorized based on their producers and consumers. The results were depicted in a diagram. Diagram 1 shows a schematic view of the woody biomass market in the Netherlands. The woody biomass producers are marked in blue, the consumers are marked in green and the woody biomass flows are in black letters. Flows with a sign are for a part left after production. For example, tree stumps are often left in the forest during thinning operations. The woody biomass is usually not available after consumption. However, Wood products re-enter the woody biomass market after use as recovered wood (see diagram 1).

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Diagram 1 shows that many of the woody biomass potentially available for energy production is released as a by-product from another primary process. For example, at sawmills planks are produced, while bark, chips and sawdust are released as a by-product. Diagram 1 was created to get a deeper insight in the market, but also to avoid double counting of biomass flows. Double counting is an error whereby a biomass flow is counted more than once. Clearly, this diagram prevents from double counting, because all the flows are connected with each other.

Diagram 1: Main biomass flows5 in the Netherlands, including producers and consumers. Producers are marked in blue and consumers are marked in green. * indicates that the flows released during land use changes are included. NCT is non-commercial thinning. RSC is road side chips, LMM is landscape management material, Imp is import and Exp is export. A dashed line indicates a relatively small flow

4. Selection of potential supply sectors in the Netherlands of woody biomass Subsequently, potential supply sectors of woody biomass for energy were selected. Forest owners, sawmills, wood processors, recovered wood traders, landscape owners, fruit growers and green processors were selected as potential suppliers of biomass. These potential supply sectors were selected, because, together, they cover all the main woody biomass flows in the Netherlands. Table 3 shows the selected potential supply sector for every important woody biomass flow in the Netherlands.

Energy plantations are not included in this diagram, because there are currently only a couple of pilot projects. It will take at least a decade before wood could be economically profitable harvested from energy plantations [4]

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Table 3: Important woody biomass flow potentially available for energy production in the Netherlands by potential supply sector Flow 1. Round logs 2. Tree stumps 3. Tops and branches 4. Non-commercial thinning 5. Off-spec 6. Residential firewood 7. Bark (sawmill) 8. Chips (sawmill) 9. Sawdust (sawmill) 10. Sawdust (wood processing industry) 11. Recovered wood, class A 12. Recovered wood, class B 13. Recovered wood, class C 14. Road side chips 15. Landscape management material 16. Residential pruning 17. Orchard waste

Potential supply sector Forest owners Forest owners Forest owners Forest owner Forest owner Forest owner Sawmills Sawmills Sawmills Wood processors Recovered wood traders Recovered wood traders Recovered wood traders Road side maintainers Green processors Green processors Fruit growers

5. Selection and interviews of (trade) organizations For every potential supply sector of woody biomass an important (trade) organization was interviewed (i) to verify the main woody biomass flows and categorization, (ii) to get insight in the production chain, (iii) to identify important market players and (iv) to obtain market trends. The (trade) organizations were selected, based on their willingness to share market information. Table 4 shows the selected (trade) organizations. Table 4: Selected (trade) organizations for every potential supply sector Potential supply sector Trade organizations Forest owners Algemene Vereniging Inlands Hout (AVIH) Probos Sawmills Algemene Vereniging Inlands Hout (AVIH) Wood processors Algemene Vereniging Inlands Hout (AVIH) Recovered wood traders Algemene Vereniging Inlands Hout (AVIH) Road side maintainers Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) Rijkswaterstaat (RWS) Green processors Branchevereniging Organische Reststoffen (BVOR) Fruit growers Nederlandse Fruittelers Organisatie (NFO)

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4. AVAILABILITY OF WOODY BIOMASS FOR ENERGY 4.1 Selection Now, the main woody biomass flows in the Netherlands are known. Also, the sectors that produce biomass flows are identified. In addition, from the interviews with the trade organizations market players per segment were identified. Two steps were taken to determine the actual availability of local woody biomass for the Vattenfall biomass plant: (1) the selection of important market players and (2) interview with these market players. 1. Selection of market players For every supply sector important market players were selected, based on the data obtained from the interviews with the trade organizations. The manner in which the market players were selected differs per sector, because of the various markets. Data on the Dutch forest by ownership was obtained from Probos (2011). Figure 4 shows that Staatsbosbeheer (SBB) is the largest owner6, followed by other nature conservation organizations like Natuurmonumenten (NM) and de 12landschappen. The Dutch government possesses a substantial share of forest other than that owned by SBB, but this share is shared out among the various provinces and municipalities. Also, a large share is owned by private owners. Therefore, Staatsbosbeheer, Natuurmonumenten, de 12landschappen and Province of Utrecht and Bosschap were interviewed. Unknown

Private owners Other nature conservati on organizatio ns

Staatsbosb eheer

Dutch governme nt

Figure 4: Dutch forest by ownership (Probos, 2011) Data on the origin of waste wood chips in The Netherlands was also obtained from Probos (2012). Figure 5 shows that the largest share of waste wood is released at sawmills. The ‘other’ share is released at the production of clogs and paper (Leek et al., 2009). Hence, it was chosen to interview a sawmill. From the interview with AVIH the largest sawmill in the Netherlands was identified, which is Willemsen. Therefore, Willemsen was interviewed.

6

SBB is also owned by the government

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Sawmills Other

Figure 5: Origin of waste wood chips in the Netherlands in 2007 (Leek et al., 2009) The largest recovered wood trader and the largest collector of sawdust released at the wood processing industry were identified in the interview with the AVIH and are Bowergy and Plomp respectively. Therefore, they were both interviewed. The largest green processing companies were obtained from the interview with the BVOR and are Delta milieu, Bruins & Kwast, Den Ouden and Biomassa Stroomlijn. For practical reasons only one of them, Delta Milieu, was interviewed. CBS showed that the largest owner of road sides in the Netherlands is RWS (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek [CBS], 2012). Therefore RWS was interviewed. Table 5 shows an overview of the selected important market players for every potential supply sector. Table 5: Overview of the selected important market players for every potential supply sector Potential supply sector Market player Forest owners Staatsbosbeheer Natuurmonumenten 12landschappen Provincie Utrecht Bosschap Sawmills Zagerij Willemsen Wood processors Plomp Recovered wood traders Bowergy Road side maintainers Rijkswaterstaat Green processors Delta Milieu Fruit growers Nederlandse Fruittelers Organisatie 2. Interviews with market players For every supply sector the selected market players were interviewed. In every interview three general questions were asked (i) to gather data on quality, price and volume of the released biomass in the sector, (ii) to obtain data on quality, price and volume of unused biomass potentials and (iii) to identify factors that determine the price and quality of biomass and to identify potential bottlenecks. The actual availability was identified, based on the data obtained from these interviews. In the next paragraph the results of the interviews are given.

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4.2 Results of the interviews In this paragraph the availability of woody biomass in the Netherlands is described. For every biomass flow the market, the chain, the theoretical and actual availability and the market trends are briefly discussed. The biomass flows are categorized by potential supply sector. 4.2.1 Primary by-products 4.2.1.1 Forest exploitation The Netherlands has 360,000 ha of forests of which 91,000 ha has a protected area status. However, also most protected areas are managed to some extent in which biomass becomes available (Probos, 2009). Probos estimates a total annual increment of 2.2 million m3 stem wood (8 m3 stem wood per ha per year). Of this 55% is actually felled, 1.2 million m3, which is roughly 1.2 Mton45%7 (Probos, 2011). Of these 1.2 million m3 felled trees 880,000 m3 ends up as round wood for industrial use. The destination of the remaining 30% (320,000 m3, roughly equal to 320 kton45%) is uncertain but includes: residential firewood (estimated at 200 kton45% by Probos), small to medium scale bioenergy installations and feedstock for energy pellets. Part of the felled biomass is also left in the forest (Kuiper & Oldenburger, 2006). When the trees are felled, tops and branches are removed first. The round logs are transported to sawmills, while the tops and branches are often left in the forest (figure 6) (Kuiper & Oldenburger, 2006). A small part of the tops and branches is harvested by Staatsbosbeheer (Wanningen, personal interview, June, 2012).

Figure 6: Schematic view of the felling of a tree. Round logs are transported to sawmills, while tops and branches are often left in the forest (Kuiper & Oldenburger, 2006)

The above numbers all refer to stem wood volumes, excluding tops and branches. Each ton of stem wood yields around 0.2 ton45% of tops and branches (Kuiper & de Lint, 2008). 1.2 million m3 of stem wood would thus yield around 240 kton45% of tops and branches. For both sustainability and economic reasons, not all of this can be harvested. Several countries use tops and branches for energy production. The share of forest harvesting residues used for energy production is the highest in the Scandinavian countries. Denmark even uses 75% of its potential (Kuiper & Oldenburger, 2006). If the Netherlands would harvest the same percentage as in Denmark then there would be a potential of residues of 180 kton45%. 7

1 m3 of fresh woody biomass ≈ 1 kton45% of fresh woody biomass [5]

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Currently, in the Netherlands only a small part of its potential is harvested (Kuiper & Oldenburger, 2006). There are several reasons to explain this: • In general the harvest of forest residues is performed in clear-fellings only and is less suitable for thinnings. The reason is that the residues are dispersed released during thinning operations which causes higher collection costs. Consequently the harvest of forest residues is mainly done in countries where clear or final fellings are still performed. This is the main explanation for the huge gap between the technical potential and the actual harvest of forest residues for energy purposes and the actual amount that is harvested in the Netherlands (Kuiper & Oldenburger, 2006). • About 1/3 of the Dutch forests is owned by private owners (see figure 4) with small properties. Many of these owners are not willing to remove trees from their property, because their forest has no production function, but a leisure function (Brinkman, personal interview, August, 2012). • In addition, the study of Probos showed that the logistical costs would be too high to harvest residues from small properties for energy production (Oldenburger, 2012). • Following this argumentation, two large Dutch nature conservation organizations, Natuurmonumenten and de 12landschappen, have a higher potential to economically profitable harvest residues, because they possess relative large forests compared to the private owners. However, they have other purposes for their properties. Often their primary goals are conservation of endangered species, leisure and the conservation of culture historic heritage. They only harvest from their forests when it is for the good of these goals. Therefore it is, in their opinion, not desirable to make a contract for large quantities, because they are not willing to be obliged to harvest unnecessarily from their forest. Also, de 12landschappen has the vision in which it prefers to act regionally instead of on a national basis. Therefore, they currently only deliver biomass in nonstructural, regional occasions (Kievit, personal interview, September, 2012; Bartelink, personal interview, July, 2012). This makes SBB currently the only supplier of harvesting residues for large-scale energy production. SBB possesses 25% of the Dutch forests, so about 60 kton45% of tops and branches are released annually. About 25% or 15 kton45% is currently harvested. Currently, it is estimated that SBB supplies also about 50 kton45% of non-commercial thinnings (Dehue, personal interview, July, 2012). Due to budget cuts, forest owners have received fewer subsidies from the government in the past decade. Therefore, forest owners are searching for new ways to exploit their forest in a more economically profitable way. This trend is visible throughout the whole market segment. For example, Natuurmonumenten (NM) is currently doing research on selling biomass to energy producers (Kieviet, personal interview, September, 2012). There is also a debate about the sustainability of harvesting forest residues, which could inhibit the increase of harvesting. According to several studies, the harvesting rate in Dutch forests could be sustainably increased from 55% to 70% (Kuiper & de Lint, 2008). A lot of market players agree with this assumption. However, a scientific grounding for this assumption was not found. At the same time there are also studies from several countries that show that tops and branches removal may endanger the sustainability of the production capacity (Kuiper & Oldenburger, 2006). Especially, the removal of forest residues from poor sites should be avoided in all cases, because this would further reduce the nutrients availability in these already nutrient poor sites (Sikkema, 1998; Belle & Timmerman, 2001; Burgers, 2002; Hakkila, 2002).

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4.2.1.2 Land-use change Land-use change can be conveniently split-up into two categories (a) Forest transformation: a forest is transformed to a nature area with another function (b) Infrastructural project: a forest is removed to build infrastructure or other non-nature functions on that area. Woody biomass is released in both cases. a. Forest transformation Forest transformation has been subject to debates within the forestry market for many years. Still people argue whether it is necessary to maintain specific nature functions or that it is decapitalization (Terharne, 2012). However, the European Union and the Dutch government have subsidized forest transformation for many years. The aim of this incentive is: “to assure the long-term survival of Europe's most valuable and threatened species and habitats” and is described in Natura 2000 which is part of EU nature & biodiversity policy (European Commission, 2009; European Commision, 2012). In the past five years there is on average 290 ha forest transformed into other nature areas in the Netherlands (Oldenburger, 2012). Using an average wood stock of 194 m3/ha, the annually released biomass amounts for approximately 56 kton45% (Probos, 2007). Although, this number of ha has been quite stable, it is expected to decrease in the coming years (Oldenburger, personal interview, July, 2012). Probos argues that there are two main reasons for this. First, subsidy cuts force forest owners to decrease the number of forest transformations. Second, most of the goals, described in the of EU nature & biodiversity policy, have been reached (Oldenburger, personal interview, July, 2012). Moreover, the total area of forest that is transformed is dispersed released throughout the Netherlands. Hence, it is assumed that no significant volume is available for large-scale energy production. b. (Infrastructural) project In order to build new infrastructure, farmlands, parks and sport facilities forest is deforested. In order to maintain the existing forest area, the Dutch Forest Law dictates that forest that is felled has to be replanted somewhere else (Overheid.nl, 1961).. The deforestation for infrastructural projects comprises a significant area on annual base, namely 1900 ha annually (Ildenburger, 2012). When the forest is felled the trees are often sold to sawmills The remaining tops, branches and tree stumps are transported to green processing companies or directly sold to biomass power plants (Oldenburger, personal interview, July, 2012). To avoid double counting, these flows are included in paragraph 4.2.2.3 Organic waste processing industry. 4.2.1.3 Orchards Currently, fruit orchards cover in the Netherlands an area of 19,230 ha (CBS, 2012). Mainly apples and pears are cultivated, and in a smaller number cherries and berries. A trend is visible in the fruit growers market over the last decades: the total area of orchards decreases, while the total production does not decrease and even tends to increase slightly (figure 7).

25

Area and yield of orchards in NL over time 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0

Area, ha

25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0

Total area Yield, mkg

30000

Total yield

Time, y Figure 7: Area and yield of orchards in the Netherlands over time. The total area of orchards has decreased by 20% over the past twenty years, while the total production slightly increased (CBS, 2012)

We are able to explain this trend by a change in the use of rootstocks. Almost all of the traditional vigorous rootstocks have been replaced by dwarfing rootstocks in the last half century. Orchards with dwarfing rootstocks produce far less woody biomass than orchards with traditional rootstocks (Bus, personal interview, July, 2012). A simplified view of the lifecycle of a dwarf fruit tree is displayed in figure 8. Usually, the small fruit trees are bought at a tree nursery and planted (i). Then the plants are grown until they produce fruit (ii). Subsequently the trees are annually pruned (iii) and harvested (iv). After the life time of the tree, the trees are grubbed (the roots are removed as well) (Bus, personal interview, July, 2012).

Figure 8: Schematic view of the pruning and grubbing of fruit trees

The released pruning biomass is often shredded and subsequently left at the orchard. After its life time (10-20 years), the tree is fully grubbed, which means that the rootstock is felled and also the roots are dug. Unlike the rootstock, which is chipped, the root is shredded, because of the contamination with sand. Finally, the chips and shreds are injected into the ground together with nitrogen to avoid relatively high transportation costs. For capacity reasons a part is transported to green processing companies. If the wood is infected with, for example, fire blight it is allowed to burn legally (Bus, personal interview, 2012). Several studies have calculated the potential theoretical volume of woody biomass, which could be gathered from orchards. For example, the study of Koppejan et al. (2009) calculates

26

the volume of pruning and grubbing residues from orchards to be about 150 kton45% per annum. A study conducted by engineering company BGP in 2000 estimated a smaller volume (Laat, 2000). The engineers used an average wood harvest of pear trees with an circulation time of 20 years of around 70 ton45% per ha and an average wood harvest of apple trees with an circulation time between 8-10 years of around 30 ton45% per ha. When those numbers are applied to the number of hectares in 2005 and in 2011, it gives a smaller potential volume of woody biomass from orchards of approximately 53 and 54 kton45% respectively. Also, BGP was asked to investigate the feasibility of using released biomass from orchards and tree nurseries for bio energy generation. The study took place from October 1999 till July 2001. BGP worked together with growers, transporters and a biomass power plant from Essent in Cuijk. The growers were instructed to treat their biomass so that it met the standards of Cuijk, then the biomass was transported to the plant and finally the biomass was checked on quality at the entrance of the plant. The growers and the transporters had to monitor their costs. BGP concluded that it is technically possible to produce acceptable biomass for the biomass power plant in Cuijk, but that it is not possible to make it economically profitable. At this time the power plant paid about EUR 15-20 per ton biomass, while the production price varied between EUR 40-80 per ton biomass (Laat, 2000). Currently, the Dutch Fruit Growers Organization (Nederlandse Fruittelers Organisatie, NFO) considers that using the released biomass from orchards for bio energy plants has still not become economically profitable. The organization argues that the production costs of the woody biomass for energy could have become even higher, because of the fact that the amount of woody biomass released at orchards has decreased, due to the smaller trunks of the trees. The NFO also considers that it will not become economically feasible in the nearby future (Bus, personal interview, July, 2012). A random check on fruit gardeners (found on the internet) showed indeed that fruit growers do not sell biomass on large-scale to energy producers. The study of Koppejan et al. (2009) assumes an increase in total area of apple, pear and tree nurseries in 2020 by 30%, Therefore, it also expects an increase in biomass supply of 30%. The NFO does not expect a growth in total productive area. Together with the opinion of the NFO and the trend of a decreasing area of orchards in the past two decades, this study does not assume a growth in the total area of orchards. Therefore, a growth in volume of biomass released from orchards is also not expected. 4.2.1.4 Road side chips The Netherlands has 2360 km of highway. Almost all Dutch highways are maintained by Public Works and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat, RWS) (CBS, 2012). RWS maintains in total 5120 km of highways and freeways. Next to the roads itself RWS also maintains the road banking, which is in practice up to 13 m from the road (Rijkswaterstaat, 2012). The maintenance is done for two reasons. First, RWS is responsible for keeping the roads safe. Second, RWS protects specific nature on the road banking. Over the last couple of years the intensity of the maintenance has decreased significantly, due to cuts in RWS its budget. For example, before the budget cuts RWS pruned the bushes next to the roads around two, up to three, times a year. Currently, pruning is not done anymore or maximally once a year (Rijkswaterstaat. 2012). Hence, RWS its focus lays currently mainly on reducing costs and less on nature conservation. RWS has its area divided into regions and districts. Usually, the maintenance work in a district or region is put up for a five-year tender. The contractor is responsible for all the maintenance work at the road banking, like mowing the grass and pruning the bushes and trees. The contractor has three options for handling the released woody biomass. If the woody biomass is released in a closed vegetation (like a bush), then the contractor is allowed to leave the biomass in the vegetation without any further processing. If the biomass is re-

27

leased in an open space, then the contractor could either chip the biomass and bring it to the nearest closed vegetation or sell it to a third party with or without chipping (see figure 9). The biomass is often transported to green processing companies. In rare cases it is sold to the energy industry (Rijkswaterstaat, 2012).

Figure 9: Schematic view of the maintenance chain of the road sides in the Netherlands

It is difficult to obtain hard numbers on a total amount of woody biomass released at the road side. According to an interview with RWS only a small part of the woody biomass is combusted for energy production. RWS’ argumentation for this statement can be summarized as follows: • The contractor is allowed to leave the biomass at a closed vegetation. This is often the cheapest option • Less maintenance work is done • Energy companies need a structural supply. Contractors are often not able to meet this demand, because the biomass is released intermittently. • Chipping at the road with mobile equipment is more expensive than transporting the biomass unprocessed to green processing companies. This is confirmed by interviews with responsible contractors. Most of the pruning waste from maintenance work of roads in the rural area is currently left in closed vegetations (Kuiper & de Lint, 2008). Most of the pruning waste from maintenance work of roads in built-up areas is usually transported to green processing companies or to waste drop-off depots. To avoid double counting, the biomass transported to green processing companies is included in the paragraph 4.2.2.3 Organic waste processing industry. 4.2.2 Secondary by-products 4.2.2.1 Sawmills In the Netherlands there are around 70 round log sawmills (Leek, 2009). The sawmills saw annually approximately 450.000 m3 8 round wood9 (Probos, 2009, 2010, 2011), from which is approximately 300.000 m3 soft wood and approximately 150.00 m3 hard wood. The sawmills mostly use wood produced in the Netherlands. The largest share of imported round wood comes from Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. The produced timber is mainly used in the Netherlands and a small part is exported to Belgium and Luxembourg (Probos, 2011). The process from round wood to timber can be divided in five steps (figure 10). Usually, the round logs are debarked (i). Then the debarked logs are machined in two steps (ii&iii). Subsequently, the machined logs are sawn to planks (iv) and finally the planks are sawn to the right size (v). During the process bark, chips and sawdust are released (figure 10). The bark is about 18% of the delivered round wood and is often sold to green processing companies and gardeners in the Netherlands and Belgium. About 52% of the debarked log is released in the form of chips (32%) and sawdust (20%). The chips are sold to the (chip) board industry in Belgium and Germany, to the paper industry10 and to biomass power plants. The sawdust Average of 2009, 2010 and 2011 of numbers from Probos Without bark 10 There is only one paper producer in the Netherlands 8 9

28

(and sometimes chips without bark) are sold to the paper, board and pellet industry (Siero, personal interview, July, 2012; Willemsen, personal interview, July, 2012).

Figure 10: Schematic view of the timber production chain. During the process bark, chips and sawdust are released

As mentioned before, bark is on average 18% of the debarked round wood. With an average annual production of 450.000 m3 debarked round wood a total amount of approximately 81.000 m3 bark is annually released in the sawmill industry. On average 52% of the debarked round wood is released in the form of chips (32%) and sawdust (20%) (Willemsen, personal interview, July, 2012). This results in a total annual production of around 145.000 m3 chips and around 90.000 m3 sawdust. The bark released at sawmills is sold to industries other than the energy industry, which are often willing to pay a higher price for the bark. For instance, it is sold to gardeners. Moreover, the bark contains high amounts of complicating substances, like chlorine (Rahim, 2012) to be able to combust the bark in large amounts in a biomass power plant. In addition the bark price has fluctuated in recent years. Currently, it is sold at sawmills for about 65 EUR/ton45% (Willemsen, personal interview, July, 2012). Therefore, bark is not on large-scale available for the Vattenfall plant. In general, the released chips at sawmills meet the required quality standards of the Vattenfall biomass plant. The share of chips sold to the chipboard industry compared to the share sold to the energy industry varies a lot. For example, Willemsen, the largest sawmill in the Netherlands, supplied about 100 kton45% biomass chips annually to the biomass plant from Essent in Cuijk. This supply ceased when the plant stopped to run in 2010 (Dehue, personal interview, July, 2012). Also, the demand and price paid for chips fluctuate significantly in the industries (Willemsen, personal interview, July, 2012). For example the price of chips sold to the chipboard industry has fluctuated between 34 and 65 EUR/ton45% in the past decade and is currently about 41 EUR/ton45% (Willemsen, personal interview, July, 2012). This in comparison to the price of chips sold to the energy industry, which has fluctuated between 30 and 60 EUR/ton45%. In the case of an use of all the wood chips by the energy industry, maximally 145 kton45% would be available.

29

Sawdust has a too small particle size to conveniently combust in the biomass power plants. Furthermore, it has other applications, like in the agricultural sector. The price of sawdust usually is higher than that of chips, but is currently said to be similar to that of chips (Willemsen, personal interview, July, 2012). Sawdust is only used to generate energy in the form of pellets (Dehue, personal interview, July, 2012). 4.2.2.2 Wood processing industry (excluding sawmills) The secondary wood processing industry includes all the companies working in the timber industry, like a furniture maker. A large part of the domestic wood supply is used, but the vast amount of processed wood is imported from Sweden and Germany. For example, in 2010 about 2,600,000 m3 sawn wood was used in the Netherlands, compared to a domestic production of 210,000 m3 (Probos, 2011). The biomass released in the wood processing industry is collected by a small number of wood fibre traders and processors (Goringa, personal interview, July, 2012). Much timber is imported to the Netherlands for the production of furniture. During the production of furniture, biomass residues like different kinds of sawdust are released. Sawdust differs from the sawdust released at sawmills in its moisture content (moisture content of about 20%, instead of 45%). The residue flow is dispersed released over many small wood processors (figure 11). The sawdust is collected in containers by wood fibre traders. The traders process the sawdust to different qualities of wood fibre. The wood fibre traders get about 95% of their feedstock from the wood processing industry. A small part of their feedstock comes from whole logs, which are chipped or hammered by trading companies (Leek, 2009). The primary product of these traders and processors is wood fibre for riding schools, stables, cattle farms and animal bedding. The animal bedding for the pet industry is exported as far as Taiwan by several wood traders (Goringa, personal interview, July, 2012). The material which is not used for the production of animal bedding is used to produce pellets, mostly for the residential market. In rare cases these pellets are sold to energy companies for co-firing.

Figure 11: Schematic view of the wood processing residue chain (Goringa, personal interview, July, 2012)

The largest player in the market is Plomp, which produces about 70 kton20% per year of animal bedding and 40 kton20% per year of pellets. Plomp argues that both products are not in the price range of the bio-energy industry. For instance, the pellets for the residential market are sold for approximately 170 EUR/ton20%. Moreover, wood fibre processors and traders ares not interested in supplying chips because they have more demand for their pellets than they are able to produce. In addition, pellets are preferred, because the traders are able to add more value to pellets than to chips. Probos has done a study in 2007 about the total amount of released dry sawdust. About 274 kton20% of dry sawdust was collected in the Netherlands and about 71 kton20% was imported in 2007 (see table 6) (Leek, 2009).

30

Table 6: Collection of dry sawdust in the Netherlands in 2007 (Leek, 2009)

Product

Netherlands [kton20%]

Import [kton20%]

Total [kton20%]

White sawdust Brown sawdust Total

168 105,5 273,5

43,5 27,5 71

211,5 133 344,5

The largest share of sawdust (85%) for energy production is used for pellet production and a small share (8%) of off-cuts is used for residential fire wood. Approximately 7% of the residues is used for energy production, but unclear is in which form (figure 12) (Leek, 2009). Other Firewood

Pellets Figure 12: Use of dry sawdust for energy by application in the Netherlands in 2007 (Leek, 2009)

4.2.2.3 Organic waste processing industry The Dutch Association for Processing Organic Waste (“Branche Vereniging Organische Reststoffen”, BVOR) estimates that in The Netherlands (2011) about 2 million ton organic waste has been collected and reprocessed (BVOR, 2012). The green processing companies produce three main category products (see figure 13). The compost is mainly sold to the agribusiness, horticulture and gardeners. The biomass for energy is sold to energy power plants in the Netherlands and abroad and to traders. The wetter or ’greener’ streams are sold to codigestion installations (BVOR, 2012).

Compost Energy Soil sieve

Figure 13: Consumption of processed organic waste by product in the Netherlands in 2011 (BVOR, 2012)

The collected organic waste mainly comes from private garden waste and from municipal works like construction, maintenance and removal of public greenery (Zwiebe et al., 2008). Maintenance includes public parks, streets, roads and landscape. The municipal works are sometimes done by municipalities themselves, but most of the time the work is out-sourced to contractors. The residues go directly to the green processing company or via the drop-off depot and then to the green processing company (figure 14). The woody biomass enters the green processing company in the form of chips or unprocessed and mixed with other organic waste. The green processing company separates most of the

31

woody biomass from the other organic waste. This wood is mainly shredded (Dijk, personal interview, August, 2012). Although wood does not compost well, about 20% of the compost has to be wood for the structure of the compost. When the organic waste is fully processed the compost is sieved and the woody fraction residue is re-used or sold to biomass plants. This biomass, called compost sieving residue, is considerably drier than the original biomass, because of the self-heating that occurs in the composting process. Sometimes contractors directly supply wood chips from their activities to energy companies. In figure 14 this flow is called the direct flow. It is very difficult to quantify the direct flow, because there are no statistics available and there are many contractors active in this field. It is expected that this flow is directly sold to sawmills and to small & medium sized power plants (Brinkman, personal interview, August, 2012).

Figure 14: Schematic view of the organic waste chain

Figure 15 shows that about 372 kton45% biomass released at the green processing companies is used for energy production. The chairman of the BVOR argues that this is the maximum part of woody biomass that can be sold to the energy industry, because the other woody biomass is needed for the structure of the compost (Brinkman, personal interview, August, 2012). As can be seen in figure 15, the biomass is sold to energy power plants in the Netherlands and abroad and to traders. Therefore, theoretically 372 kton45% of woody biomass is available. Currently, at least 124 kton45% biomass is sold to the energy industry in the Netherlands (figure 15). The same amount is sold to plants abroad and 115 kton45% is sold to traders. When assumed that traders sell in the same amounts their biomass in the Netherlands and abroad, than it can be concluded that about 180 kton45% is currently used for energy production in the Netherlands (BVOR, 2012). The other 180 kton45% is sold to biomass plants abroad, because there is not enough demand in the Netherlands (Dijk, personal interview, August, 2012). Clearly, transportation costs are a significant share of the final biomass price and therefore sales in the Netherlands are often preferred (exceptions, of course, apply in the border regions) (Dijk, personal interview, August, 2012). Hence, it is assumed that with an increasing demand for biomass all the biomass released from green processing companies will be sold in the Netherlands. This gives a potential availability of 360 kton45%.

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Total = 372 kton45%

0%

31%

34%

Bio-energy plants NL Bio-energy plants abroad Co-digestion installations Traders Other

2% 33%

Figure 15: Woody biomass sales from green processing companies by consumer in kton45% (BVOR, 2012)

Municipalities and other suppliers pay green processing companies for the processing of their organic waste. This is currently about EUR 25/ton11 (Dijk, personal interview, August 2012). However, the green processing companies experience a decrease in the price they get for the processing (Brinkman, personal interview, August, 2012). For example, five years ago they received about EUR 30/ton. A further decrease in price could affect the biomass price sold by green processing companies. 4.2.3 Tertiary by-products 4.2.3.1 Recovered wood Recovered wood is defined as wood that is released at the end of the lifetime of a product. Depending upon the application of the product the wood can be contaminated. Recovered wood is categorised into three classes: • A-wood • B-wood • C-wood As mentioned before, A-wood is unconditioned wood (no coatings etc.), only mechanically treated and not polluted during use with other substances. Examples are pallets, boxes, unconditioned solid demolition wood, unconditioned wooden furniture, fibres and chips from the wood industry. B-wood comprises glued woods and boards, coated woods, laminated chip- and fibreboards and other treated woods but without organic halogens and wood preservatives. Examples are chipboards, fibreboards and wooden furniture. C-wood is impregnated wood (Brinkman, personal interview, August, 2012). Recovered wood is mainly released in the construction industry as demolition wood, but also by companies as packaging waste and by private individuals as domestic waste. The wood is collected by contractors, which bring the wood to processing and trading companies (see figure 16). Increasingly, integrated companies that collect and sort the wood appear, because of higher margins (Leek, 2009). The A-wood is often sold to wood product companies, which produce charcoal and pallets, but also to the board industry. The higher quality of the B-wood is also being exported to the chip- and fibre board industry in Belgium and Germany, next to 11

Based on mass ton, therefore at a rainy day they receive more money for the same volume of biomass than at a dry day

33

being used for energy in both the Netherlands and abroad. Lower quality B-wood is exclusively used for energy. C-wood is exported to power plants in Germany which are specifically designed for the combustion of highly contaminated material or is dumped in land fillings (Leek, 2009). Currently, the Netherlands is a net exporter of recovered wood, mainly to Germany (Probos, 2011).

Figure 16: Schematic view of recovered wood chain About 1485 kton20% recovered wood was produced in the Netherlands, according to a study of Probos in 2007 (Leek, 2009). About 600 kton20%, 800 kton20% and 85 kton20% A-wood, Bwood and C-wood was produced respectively. Currently, about 1085 kton20% recovered wood is produced12, according to Bowergy, a large recovered wood trader (Jennissen, personal interview, August 2012). Bowergy estimates that about 150 kton20%, 850 kton20% and 85 kton20% A-wood, B-wood and C-wood was produced respectively in 2012. The large difference in ratio between A- and B-wood by Probos (0,75) and the market player (0,18) is remarkable. Bowergy argue that this is due to the fact that A- and B-wood are often mixed. Officially, A-wood is than produced, but in practice this mixture can only be sold as B-wood (Jennissen, personal interview, August, 2012). In the Netherlands mainly B-wood is used for energy production. This is because it is not allowed to burn the decontaminated C-wood in the Netherlands and is therefore transported to Germany. A-wood is not expected to compete on a large scale with B-wood as a fuel, because A-wood is simply more expensive than B-wood. Annually, between 500-640 kton20% B-wood is burned. It is currently combusted in Twence (140 kton20%), HVC Alkmaar (170 kton20%), AVR Rozenburg (150 kton20%), Amer 9 (150 kton20%) and Bioenergy Twente (14 kton20%) (de Vries et al., 2008). The other 150-350 kton is exported to the panel board industry. The B-wood price is currently between EUR 3045/ton20% (Jennissen, personal interview, August, 2012). A-wood is sold for approximately EUR 55/ton20% to the energy industry. When sold to the board industry, the A-wood price is higher (approximately EUR 70/ton20%)13, because they have higher quality standards. Wood traders prefer to sell their A-wood to the board industry, because of the higher added value. Also, they have often invested in equipment to meet the quality requirements of the board industry (Jennissen, personal interview, August, 2012). Bowergy argues that when the B-wood demand increases in the Netherlands, B-wood could be imported increasingly from Germany. The German B-wood price is said to be lower (Jennissen, personal interview, August, 2012). 4.3 Overview Table 7 displays an overview of the theoretical and actual volumes available for the Vattenfall biomass plant. The table shows that currently the largest share of fresh wood used for energy production is sold by organic waste processing companies and sawmills. It also shows that the largest part of recovered wood used for energy is B-wood.

Total volumes are currently lower, due to a decrease in activity in the construction industry, which produces relatively much waste wood 13 This is higher than energy companies are willing to pay. However, if they buy in large quantities B-wood for a lower price, then the average price per ton is still lower than the price-criterion 12

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Woody biomass flow

Theoreti- Currently used for Actual potential cal volu- large-scale energy within 5 years me production in NL

Fresh wood, unit Tops and branches Orchards Non-commercial thinnings Road side chips Landscape management material Sawmill (Bark) Sawmill (chips) Sawmill (sawdust) Organic waste processing industry Direct* Total fresh wood supply

kton45% 240 50-150 DC DC

kton45% 15 SA 50 Indirect, direct Indirect, direct

kton45% 30 SA 50 Indirect, direct Indirect, direct

80 145 90 350

SA FS (0-100) SA 175

SA FS (0-145) SA 180-360

ND 955

ND 240-340

ND 260-585

Dry wood, unit Wood processing industry Recovered wood, class A Recovered wood, class B Recovered wood, class C Total dry wood supply

kton20% 300 150 850 85 1385

kton20% SA 50 630 SA 680

kton20% SA 50-150 630-850 SA NL 680-1085+IMP

Table 7: Theoretical and actual available volume for the Vattenfall biomass plant by biomass flow. The column actual potential within 5 years gives a volume of biomass which is thought by experts to be released when the demand for woody biomass increases. SA is a small amount; this flow is sometimes used for energy production, but not in large amounts. ND is no data, no data was found on this flow. FS is fluctuating supply, the supply of this flow has fluctuated significantly in the last decade. IMP is import, woody biomass can potentially be economically profitable imported. *Direct is the flow which is collected by a contractor and directly sold to a biomass power plant, little data is available on this flow.

The total availability for the Vattenfall biomass plant was calculated by adding the total availability of fresh wood and the total availability of recovered wood. To allow adding an adaptation was made: all biomass volumes were expressed in oven dry tons (zero moisture content). Figure 17 shows that about 1130 ktonodt of woody biomass is available for the Vattenfall biomass plant. From which is about 330 ktonodt fresh woody biomass and about 800 ktonodt recovered wood The figure also shows that the Vattenfall plant requires around 140 ktonodt (≈250 kton45%), which is about 12% of the total availability of woody biomass in the Netherlands that meet the price and quality criteria of the Vattenfall plant.

35

Available in NL

Recovered wood Fresh wood Biomass plant Utrecht

0

200

400

600

800 1000 1200

Woody biomass, ktonodt

Figure 17: Estimated availability of local woody biomass for the Vattenfall plant compared with its demand. The demand is about 12% of the total availability. The estimated availability consists of recovered wood (about 800 ktonodt) and fresh wood (about 330 ktonodt) The found actual availability was also compared with the availability estimated in the study of Koppejan et al.. Figure 18 shows this comparison. Remarkable, is the significant difference between the studies. This difference results from the inclusion of the price and quality criteria of the Vattenfall biomass plant.

Koppejan ave

This study

0

1000

2000

3000

Woody biomass, odt Figure 18: Comparison of the estimated availability of woody biomass for energy production in the Netherlands with the estimated theoretical availability in the study of Koppejan et al. (2009)

Several factors that explain the gap between the availability estimated in this study and the theoretical availability were found and are summarized in table 8.

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Table 8: Factors that determine the actual availability of woody biomass for large-scale energy production in the Netherlands

Biomass flow

Factor

Round logs

Round logs have higher value as wood product (competition) Contaminated with sand See tops and branches Lack of clear-fellings Dispersed released (logistical costs) Owners have other function for forest than production Owners with small properties Decrease of forest transformation subsidy See tops and branches See tops and branches Trees have higher value as residential firewood (competition) Bark is used in gardening (competition) Too much chlorine Chips are also used in board industry (competition) Sawdust is used in pellet industry, etc. (competition) Too small to combust Sawdust is used for animal bedding, etc. (competition) A-wood is also used in board industry (competition) B-wood is also used in board industry (competition) Contaminated Combust prohibition Dispersed released (logistical costs) Budget cuts Contaminated with cans etc. Nature conservation subsidy Allowed to leave it at harvesting place Many small contractors Size depends on municipality Increase of dwarfing rootstocks Only once a year pruned Contaminated with sand Dispersed released (logistical costs)

Tree stumps Tops and branches

Non-commercial thinning Off-spec Residential firewood Bark (sawmill) Chips (sawmill) Sawdust (sawmill) Sawdust (wood processing industry) Recovered wood, class A Recovered wood, class B Recovered wood, class C Road side chips

Landscape management material Residential pruning Orchard waste

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5. CONCLUSIONS To reach its sustainability goal the Dutch government stimulates renewable energy production. Several potential studies show a relatively large theoretical availability of local woody biomass in the Netherlands. Therefore, various energy companies develop power plants which will run on woody biomass. For example, Vattenfall investigates the feasibility of building a CHP biomass plant in Utrecht. The availability of local woody biomass is an important factor in the development of this plant. However, the actual availability for the Vattenfall biomass plant is uncertain. Hence, this research was conducted to assess the available volume of woody biomass for the Vattenfall plant. It was also conducted to get a deeper insight in the local woody biomass market. That is, to identify the factors that determine the actual availability of local woody biomass. We estimated the available volume of woody biomass for the Vattenfall biomass plant to be around 1130 ktonodt per annum, of which is approximately 800 ktonodt of recovered wood and approximately 330 ktonodt of fresh wood. The share of fresh wood consists mainly of biomass released at green processing companies, chips released at sawmills and harvesting residues from Staatsbosbeheer. The plant requires annually about 138 ktonodt of woody biomass, which is about 12% of the total availability. The estimated 1130 ktonodt available volume in this study is significant smaller than the 2550 ktonodt potential available volume calculated in the literature. We are able to explain this gap by several factors. In the Netherlands we mainly use our forest other than for wood production, i.e. there are no clear-fellings, but mostly thinnings. The collection costs of forest residues are significantly higher during thinning operations than during clear-fellings. Therefore, the harvest of forest residues is mainly done in countries where clear or final fellings are still performed. In addition, a significant amount (about a quarter) of the Dutch forest is owned by nature conservation organizations Natuurmonumenten and the 12Landschappen which are currently not willing or able to supply large volumes of woody biomass to the energy industry. This is because they operate on a regional level and have other purposes for their properties, like the conservation of endangered species, leisure and the conservation of culture historical heritage. However, they start to consider selling biomass to the energy industry, due to budget cuts. About 1/3 of the Dutch forests is owned by private owners with small properties. Many of these owners are not willing to remove trees from their property, because their forest has a leisure function and the logistical costs would be too high to economically profitable harvest woody biomass for energy. Another factor that significantly affects the availability of woody biomass for the Vattenfall plant is the competition with other industries. For instance, the board and the energy industry both consume recovered wood and wood chips released at sawmills. Moreover, sawdust and bark, which are also produced at sawmills, are currently sold to the horticulture and the pellet industry respectively. In addition, the sawdust released at the production of furniture is sold to riding schools and the pet industry, which are willing to pay a significant higher price than the energy industry. Biomass released at the roadside is not considered to be available for energy production, due to the relatively high harvest and transportation costs. Moreover, the volume of biomass released during the maintenance of the road banking has decreased significantly over the last years, due to cuts in budget from the government. Finally, it was found that it is not economically profitable to collect woody biomass released at orchards, due to transportation and processing costs. Moreover, the amount of woody biomass released at orchards decreases, because of increasingly use of dwarfing rootstocks. Consequently, there is certainly a potential to use local woody biomass for energy production. However, this potential is significantly smaller than in the current existing literature could suggest.

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6. DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 6.1 Boundaries A weakness of gathering data via interviews is that the interviewee has its own interests. For many companies it counted that we came on behalf of an energy company. Therefore, not all the companies wanted to give data on prices. Also, companies could potentially have given not fully accurate data for business purposes. Hence, the numbers published in this study should not be taken as exact values. However, the study demonstrates that there is far less woody biomass available for the Vattenfall biomass plant than potential studies could suggest. Clearly, it is important for the energy industry to know which flows are price sensitive, i.e. which flows would arguably become available when the price an energy company is able to pay, for example, doubles. First, more fresh wood chips would become available from sawmills, because the energy companies are already highly competing with the board industry. Therefore, we are able to assume that up to all the chips would become available for the energy industry. Another flow which would become increasingly available is recovered B-wood. B-wood is also competing with the board industry. Therefore, the Netherlands would cease its export of Bwood and would potentially even become a net importer of B-wood. Third, the biomass from green processing companies, that is currently exported, would become available. Clearly, the biomass price is not twice as high in Germany and Belgium. The opinion of market players is in general that also tops and branches would become increasingly available with a price increment (Oldenburger, personal interview, Julu, 2012). However, the total available volume of tops and branches is relatively small. It is also important for the energy industry to know which flows would become available, when the biomass plant would run on lower quality biomass. In that case, bark and sawdust could potentially be combusted. However, bark and sawdust are currently used in other applications, like in gardening and for animal bedding. Therefore it is not expected that a change in quality requirement would affect the availability significantly. However, several market players, like RWS and Delta Milieu, indicated that they could supply grass for a much lower price. According to these market players, grass is used in much less applications than most of the woody biomass flows. Moreover, grass is very abundant and is often released in large quantities. Several suppliers collect grass in large quantities and often even pay for the disposal. However, it is currently technically not feasible to combust grass. 6.2 Supply versus expected demand Currently, not only Vattenfall, but various other energy companies develop biomass plants, which require also local woody biomass. Although the price and the quality criteria differ by biomass plant, the availability of local woody biomass for the Vattenfall plant is arguably of the same order of magnitude as the availability for other biomass plants in the Netherlands. Obviously, the demand by other energy companies will significantly affect the availability of local woody biomass for the Vattenfall plant. Therefore, the expected demand was investigated and compared with the found availability. The demand of all the planned biomass plants were added to the current demand of the existing biomass plants. Figure 19a and 19b illustrate the current demand plus the demand of the planned biomass plants versus the estimated availability by category. These comparisons show us that it is expected that there will be sufficient recovered wood for energy production, but that there will potentially be scarcity in the fresh wood market.

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1200

kton20%

1000 800

Planned demand (05 years)

600

Operational

400 Actual availailability max (NL)

200 0 Domestic Supply

Domestic Energy Demand

Actual availability min

Figure 19a: The actual availability versus the expected recovered wood demand in the Netherlands (Kuiper & de Lint, 2008; AVIH, 2012). The expected demand consists of the current demand plus the planned demand. The planned demand includes all the biomass plants that are currently developed and will start to run within 5 years 1200

kton45%

1000 800

Planned demand (05y)

600

Operational

400 Actual availailability max

200 0 Domestic Supply

Domestic Energy Demand

Actual availability min

Figure 19b: The actual availability versus the expected fresh wood demand in the Netherlands (Kuiper & de Lint, 2008; AVIH, 2012). The expected demand consists of the current demand plus the planned demand. The planned demand includes all the biomass plants that are currently developed and will start to run within 5 years 6.3 Recommendations In this study four potential options were found to increase the availability of biomass for energy companies. First, biomass released at relatively small forests could be supplied together to decrease logistical costs. Second, the willingness of nature conservation organizations to supply to energy companies could be increased by setting up agreements. Third, potentially grass could be combusted. Grass is abundantly released in the Netherlands and it is affordable for the energy industry. Finally, fresh wood could be imported from Germany and Belgium. These four options should be further investigated.

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7. REFERENCES Agentschap NL, 2012. Stimulering Duurzame Energie. Retrieved October 5, 2012, from www.agentschapnl.nl Algemene Vereniging Inlands Hout, 2012. Biomassakaart NL. Retrieved August 22, 2012, from www.avih.nl Bartelink, H., July, 2012. Personal interview. Employer at De12landschappen, De Bilt, The Netherlands. Belle, J.F., & Temmerman, M., 2001. Bioenergy and sustainable forest harvesting. Département Génie rural, Centre de Recherches Agronomiques de Gembloux, Gembloux, Belgium. Biomassaforum, 2012. Houtige biomassa duurzame energiebron in glastuinbouw. Retrieved October 20, 2012, from www.biomassaforum.nl Biomass Innovation Centre, 2012. Biomass for Combined Heat and Power. Retrieved October 5, 2012, from www.biomassinnovation.ca Blitterswijk, H., & Baeten, J., 2006. De hoogstamboomgaard natuurlijk! Wetenschapswinkel, University of Wageningen, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Rapport 229. Bolhuis, E., August, 2012. Personal interview. Employer at Belmaco, Driebergen, The Netherlands. Boosten, M. et al., 2009. De logistieke keten van houtige biomassa uit bos, natuur en landschap in Nederland: stand van zaken, knelpunten en kansen biomassa praktisch bekeken. Stichting Probos, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Branche Vereniging Organische Reststoffen., 2012. Opwerking van groenafval en afzet producten 2011. Branche Vereniging Organische Reststoffen, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Brinkman, A., August, 2012. Personal interview. Chairman at Branche Vereniging Organische Reststoffen, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Burgers, J.A., 2002. Soil and long-term site productivity values. In: Richardson, J., R. Björheden, P.Hakkila, A.T. Lowe, C.T. Smith, 2002 Bioenergy from Sustainable Forestry-Guiding Principles and Practice. Kluwer, The Netherlands. Bus, H., July, 2012. Personal interview. Employer at Nederlandse Fruittelers Organisatie, Zoetermeer, The Netherlands. Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, 2012. Fruitoogst: oogst appels en peren. Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, Den Haag, The Netherlands. Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, 2012. Lengte van wegen; naar wegkenmerk en gemeente. Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, Den Haag, The Netherlands. Dehue, B., July, 2012. Personal interview. Employer at Vattenfall-Nuon, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

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Dijk, D van., August, 2012. Personal interview. Employer at Delta, Middelburg, The Netherlands. Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, 2009. The promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing. Retrieved October 15, 2012, from http://europa.eu European Commission, 2012. What is Natura 2000? Retrieved October 14, 2012, from http://ec.europa.eu Freppaz, D. et al., 2003. Optimizing forest biomass exploitation for energy supply of a regional level. Biomass and Bioenergy 26 (2004) 15 – 25. Goringa, H., July, 2012. Personal interview. Employer at Plomp & Zonen BV, Waardenburg, The Netherlands. Hakkila, P., 2002. Operations with reduced environmental impact. In: Richardson, J., R. Björheden, P.Hakkila, A.T. Lowe, C.T. Smith, 2002 Bioenergy from Sustainable Forestry-Guiding Principles and Practice. Kluwer, The Netherlands. Jennissen, J., August, 2012. Personal interview. Employer at Bowergy, Nieuw-Bergen, The Netherlands. Kievit, H., September, 2012. Personal interview. Employer at Natuurmonumenten, ‘s Graveland, the Netherlands.

Koppejan et al., 2009. Beschikbaarheid van Nederlandse biomassa voor elektriciteit en warmte in 2020. SenterNovem, projnr 200809. Kuiper, L., & Lint, de S., 2008. Binnenlands biomassa potentieel. Ecofys, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Kuiper, L., & Oldenburger, J., 2006. The harvest of forest residues in Europe. Stichting Probos, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Laat, P., 2000. Inzetten vrijkomend rooihout uit Fruitteelt en/of Boomkwekerij productie. BGP ingenieursbureau, Uden, The Netherlands. Leek, N. et al., 2009. De markt van gebruikt hout en resthout in 2007. Stichting Probos, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Lensink, S. et al., 2012. Basisbedragen in de SDE 2012. Energie Centrum Nederland, Petten, The Netherlands. ECN-E--11-054. Oldenburger, J., 2012. Bosomvorming, de cijfers. Stichting Probos, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Oldenburger, J. et al., 2012. Groen goud uit landschapsonderhoud. Stichting Probos, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Oldenburger, J., July, 2012. Personal interview. Employer at Probos, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Interview.

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Overheid.nl, 1961. Wet van 20 juli 1961, houdende nieuwe bepalingen ter bewaring van bossen en andere houtopstanden. Retrieved October 14, 2012, from http://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0002357/geldigheidsdatum_14-02-2013 Probos, 2007. Kerngegevens Bos en Hout in Nederland. Stichting Probos, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Probos, 2009. Kerngegevens Bos en Hout in Nederland. Stichting Probos, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Probos, 2010. Kerngegevens Bos en Hout in Nederland. Stichting Probos, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Probos, 2011. Kerngegevens Bos en Hout in Nederland. Stichting Probos, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Rahim, M.U., 2012. Release of chlorine during mallee bark pyrolysis. Retrieved October 20, 2012, from http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ef3018157 Rijkswaterstaat, August 2012. Personal interview. Employer atRijkswaterstaat, Delft, The Netherlands. Rutte, M., & Samsom, D., 2012. Bruggen slaan. (Coalition agreement Dutch government). Retrieved November 5, 2012, from www.kabinetsformatie2012.nl/actueel/documenten/regeerakkoord.html Siemons R, et al., 2004. Bio-energy’s Role in the EU Energy Market: A View of Developments until 2020. Biomass Technology Group, Enschede, the Netherlands. Siero, C., July, 2012. Personal interview. Employer at Ecochip, Nieuwleusen, The Netherlands. Sikkema, R., 1998. Kosten van energiehout uit bestaande bossen. Stichting Bos en Hout, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Spijker, J.H. et al., 2007. Biomassa voor energie uit de natuur. Een inventarisatie van hoeveelheden, potenties en knelpunten. Research institute Alterra, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Alterra-rapport 1616, ISSN 1566-7197. Terharne, R., 2012. Bosomvorming: kapitaalsvernietiging of natuurlijke noodzaak? Koninklijke Nederlandse Bosbouwvereniging. Retrieved October 14, 2012, from www.knbv.nl Vries, de B. et al., 2008. Energie à la carte. De potentie van biomassa uit het landschap voor energiewinning. Research institute Alterra, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Alterra-rapport 1679, ISSN 1566-7197. Wanningen, H., June, 2012. Personal interview. Employer at Staatsbosbeheer, Driebergen, The Netherlands. Willemsen, M., July 2012. Personal interview. Employer at Willemsen, Cuijk, The Netherlands. Zwebe, D. et al., 2008. Mogelijkheden voor de inzet van biomassa voor energieopwekking in de MRA-regio. Biomass Technology Group, Enschede, The Netherlands.

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APPENDIX A: INTERVIEWS In this chapter the summaries of the interviews can be found. Natuurmonumenten Organisatie: Natuurmonumenten Geïnterviewde: Dhr H. Kievit Datum: september 2012 Kievit was directeur van de unie van 12landschappen. Ook was hij directeur van ZuidNederland bij Staatsbosbeheer. Hij heeft ook nog bij Elewoude (meer terreinbeheer) gewerkt. Hij is bij Natuurmonumenten (NM) per juni begonnen. Hij is nu bezig met mensen te werven voor zijn team. Hij is verantwoordelijk om vier productgroepen in te richten: 1. Houtige biomassa, 2. Ander biomassa, 3. Leisure, 4. Webshop (vb. elektrische fiets) Op biomassa gebied is er ontzettend veel vraag uit markt. Hij wordt overspoeld door partijen. NM kijkt momenteel naar het verschil tussen de grote jongens en de kleine installaties. Zijn indruk is dat de leveringsgaranties de lastigste factor is. Wat kunnen we met producten? NM heeft namelijk een primaire natuurdoelstelling. NM heeft als doel om een zo hoog mogelijke diversiteit van ecosystemen te organiseren. NM is zoekende naar tussenweg tussen deze doelstelling en het leveren van biomassa. Hij is niet zo voor het verslepen van grondstoffen. Bijvoorbeeld haardhout wordt eerst gekloofd naar Duitsland en komt dan weer terug. Hij wil het liefst zonder de tussenstap van Duitsland. Hoe lokaler en regionaler, hoe beter het voor NM haar positie is. NM is momenteel zoekend naar haar positie. Drie punten zijn hierbij van belang: 1. Leveringsgarantie 2. Niet grondstoffen slepen 3. Welke richting (liever ontwikkel of bestaande technologie) NM zou mogelijk wel geïnteresseerd kunnen zijn in een samenwerking met de energie industrie. Maar dan wel meer dan alleen leverancier. De natuurnaam van NM is erg belangrijk. Verder kijken dan alleen leverantie. Nu hebben ze bijvoorbeeld een samenwerkingsrelatie met green choice. Opmerkelijk is dat NM vrij vaak wordt benaderd door pyrolyseproducenten. NM beheert 100.000 ha natuur, waarvan 25.000 ha bos. Ter vergelijking: Finland heeft 7.000.000 ha bos. (NL dus weinig) Bij NM wordt niet echt veel gekapt. Ze beginnen met eigen timmerhout te produceren. Voor het restaureren met eigen hout. Voor de handel leveren ze wat hout aan de platenindustrie en rondhoutzagerijen. Maar dit is zeer klein. Rest blijft over: takken en tophout. En scheve bomen. Bij omvormingen komt de meeste volume in een keer vrij. NM is ongeveer 2x zo klein als SBB. Factor 1:2 SBB. Unie van 12landschappen is zoals NM, maar meer gesplitst. Gemeentes bezitten weinig bos. Paar gemeentes: Eden & Soest. Ook die zijn lastig te mobiliseren. Het hout van NM gaat naar: -Voor een deel naar de handel (platen etc.), maar weinig. -Voor een deel naar eigen hout reparaties -Voor een deel naar de regio in

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SBB is opgesplitst in vier regio’s. Daarentegen is NM opgesplitst in 6 regio’s. Dus veel regionaler. Zijn functie is gecreëerd om te beslissen wat ze met de biomassa gaan doen. Op zich is de trend binnen de organisatie wel dat ze centraler gaan werken. Echter zijn ze op zoek naar hun niche. Momenteel leveren ze geen biomassa voor energieproductie, behalve aan mensen met houtkachels. Minder omvormingen. Het kan namelijk financieel niet uit. Het geld van NM en de 12landschappen komt uit postcodeloterij. 12 miljoen voor de12landschappen en NM krijgt ook wat. . NM wil principieel eerst biomassa leveren aan producenten die het gebruiken voor een andere toepassing, alleen tak en tophout zou geleverd kunnen worden voor energie. Dus er komt waarschijnlijk geen andere houtige biomassa vrij. Wel andere, niet-houtige, biomassa komt er vrij. Ook wil NM een deel van de biomassa in het bos houden.

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Plomp Organisatie: Plomp Geïnterviewde: Dhr. H. Goringa Datum: juli 2012

•

• • •

• • •

They get 95% of their feedstock from wood processing, NOT from sawmills o They also do take in some whole logs and chip/hammer these themselves o This material they dry with the heat from two gas CHPs that they have on-site Their primary product is animal bedding, which they export as far as Taiwan. o Production 70 kton/year The stuff they cannot use for animal bedding they use to produce pellets o 40 kton/year The produce pellets primarily for residential market at prices of ~170 euro/ton at the factory gate o In the summer they sometimes have some excess quantities that they have sold to Delta for co-firing Not interested in supplying chips because they have more demand for their pellets than they can produce They have some 200-250 ton per week of very fine sawdust – like flower. Check with Rob is this is of interest for Buggenum. Analysis of feasibility of these processing residues for CHP o Pellet prices around 170 euro at factory gate o OPEX for pelleting between 50 and 130 euro/ton according to Poyry. The high end is probably for the torrefied pellets. These plants are small scale but their feedstock is already fine and dry so low processing needs so probably at lower end of spectrum. Assuming ~70 euro/ton for pelleting, leaves them with a WPC of 100 euro/ton10% or about 5.5 euro/GJ. o This price could perhaps be paid for chips but they prefer to produce pellets (more added value) and they control the flows with their infrastructure. We cannot get the flow since it is available verse dispersed over many small wood processors.

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Bosschap Organisatie: Bosschap, Belmaco Geïnterviewde: Dr. Ir. E. E. Bolhuis Datum: 23 augustus 2012 Algemeen -De rapporten van Bosschap zijn niet openbaar beschikbaar. -Duitse prijzen voor houtchips zijn mogelijk te vinden in Duitse vakbladen. Tak en tophout Momenteel wordt er 55% geoogst van het Nederlandse bos. Het is misschien mogelijk om de oogst te verhogen op een duurzame manier tot 75%. (Joop Spijker). Maar dan moet je het bos actief beheren. Bosbouwstudies zijn dan nodig. Alterra zegt dat je meer kunt oogsten. Er zou dan zelfs meer bos gaan groeien. Deze opvatting is echter omstreden. Grote machine pakt de bomen eerst op. Daarna stript hij de bomen. Residuen blijven liggen. Het ophalen van deze residuen is niet rendabel voor kleine partijen. (Machines kosten veel geld, de residuen komen verspreid vrij). Bij omvormingsprojecten allemaal chipperen. Dan blijft er niets liggen. Dit wordt echter minder. Omdat subsidie (Natura 2000) is ingetrokken voor natuurinrichting. Marktprijs houtchips Marktprijs afhankelijk van buitenland. Niet per se van Nederlandse vraag. Verschuift subsidies. Naar Duitsland en België. Houtchips gaan grens over. Komen van plantsoenen en gemeenten en SBB en participanten. Dus komt vaak bij onderhoud vrij. Hij heeft er ook rapporten overgeschreven. Bij andere partijen vaak over omvormingsproject. Bos wordt bv hei. Natuurmonumenten vb. SBB de enige met commerciële oogst. Goed om met de 12Landschappen te praten. Natuurmonumenten nieuwe directeur. Prijs voornamelijk afhankelijk van export naar Duitsland. Contacten -Kara enige producent warmteketels. 500 kW en 5 MW -Henk Jan Kievit net aangenomen bij natuurmonumenten voor biomassa -Paar grote aannemers op houtchips, leden van AVIH (aannemers), concurreren met SBB Houtconvenant Bos oogsten is niet normaal Nederland. Bos oogst je niet. In het convenant is afgesproken om meer te oogsten. Rentabiliteit is echter een probleem. CO2 opslag in bos. Het convenant probeert een verbinding te leggen tussen energie en bos. Dit zijn echter twee verschillende werelden. Bolhuis probeert de twee werelden van duurzaam bosbeheer bij elkaar te brengen Duurzaamheidscriteria zijn momenteel op de tropen gericht. Niet haalbaar in Europa. Maar toch ligt de focus vooral op de rentabiliteit. CO2 balans opgemaakt. Subsidiëring uit convenant gehaald. Kabinet is niet betrouwbaar. NTA8080 staat in convenant. Is al PFC en PEFC. Kan alternatief zijn. Nieuw lijstje voor duurzaam bosbeheer gericht op energie. Veel boseigenaren willen niet naar FSC of PEFC.. Kostenplaatje, is te duur. Bosbeheer in NL sowieso niet rendabel. Internatonaal niet NTA8080. Hoe dit te combineren? Strijd al geweest tussen PEFC en FSC. B-hout Door de centrales (Twence, AVR, HVC) wordt B-hout gebruikt en er gaat een groot deel naar Duitsland. Ook daar is er enorme ontwikkeling. Verleden ging het voor negatieve prijzen naar Duitsland. Tegenwoordig gaat die prijs omhoog. Prijs hangt voor een deel af van het subsi-

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diebeleid in Duitsland. De spaanplaatindustrie is ook een concurrent. Deze industrie gaat slecht. Compost Composteerders gaan slecht. Biomassa is tegenwoordig geen afval meer, door wetswijziging. BVOR leden zijn hun pluspunt kwijt. Composteerders krijgen minder houtige biomassa. In april correctie op deze wijziging. Biomassa moet specifiek uit bos en natuur. De afkomst is niet meer van belang. Maar het product is belangrijker. Onbehandeld. Maar mag wel geshredderd wel. Biomassa wordt snel verontreinigd. Is het dan afval? BVOR wil van wel. Zeker als het uit milieustraten komt.

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Branchevereniging voor Organische Reststoffen Organisatie: Branchevereniging voor organische reststoffen Geïnterviewde: Dhr. A. Brinkman Datum: 23 augustus 2012 Algemeen -De Bossector bevindt zich momenteel in een financiële crisis. -Plantages zijn gewoon te duur: Probos heeft aangetoond dat wilgen te duur zijn. Compost Ze gebruiken momenteel het volledige compostgedeelte wat mogelijk is voor houtige biomassa. Belangrijke marktspelers zijn: Delta milieu, Bruins & Kwast, BiomassaStroomlijn, Den Ouden. Er is een duidelijke trend gaande momenteel. Er zijn veel GFT bedrijven. Ongeveer 50 leden. 5 jaar geleden konden zij aan de voorkant geld verdienen. Ze kregen bij het ophalen 30/40 euro per ton. Tegenwoordig zakt dat enorm: Bijvoorbeeld in Brabant is het tussen 0-5 euro per ton. Tegenwoordig moeten bedrijven met hun product geld gaan verdienen. Bedrijven die dat niet doen overleven het niet. Een van de eerste commerciële producten was houtige biomassa. Nu zijn er meer producten. Voor bedrijven zit er een spanningsveld, maar kunnen niet alle houtige biomassa weghalen, want er is een gedeelte nodig om een mooi compostproduct te krijgen. Ongeveer 20% hout in compost is er nodig. Ze hebben een green deal met de overheid. Hoogst mogelijke segment van de compost is voor cascadering en is potgrond. Potgrond heeft wel meer dan 20% houtige biomassa nodig. Ze denken nu aan instrumenten om deze cascadering te stimuleren. Markt Het gaat nu over vers hout. Je kunt vers hout onderscheiden in twee stromen. 1. Het vers hout komt op de groeninrichting en wordt verwerkt en gebruikt. 2. Het vers hout wordt op de locatie verwerkt (chips). De 1e stroom beslaat ongeveer 400.000 ton. Deze stromen zijn knowledgeplichtig stromen. Er zijn 5 grote stromen. De 2e stroom is wat vager. Niemand meldt het. En niemand hoeft het te melden. Niet meer op alle groene reststromen is de afvalstofregeling geldig. Dus niet meldplichtig. Steeds meer stromen gaan naar 0 euro toe. Als je naar niet vergunde inrichtingen stuurt, wordt de heterogeniteit erger (dus lagere kwaliteit). Ook de specificatie wordt slechter. Komt door de onvolwassen markt. Dan komen er veel illegale stromen. Steeds meer niet vergunde bedrijven mogen compost verwerken. Hierdoor: 1e beweging: minder regels van de overheid om hoogwaardiger gebruik te stimuleren 2e beweging: juist meer naar laagste putje. (dus contra-effect) Herkomst Hout komt uit groenafval. Groenafval komt uit direct onderhoud groenvoorzieningen gemeenten. Ook komt het uit wegen. En uit niet bos. En direct uit milieustraten. Deze stromen komen samen bij groeninrichtingen. Er zijn ongeveer 20 GFT inrichtingen. Er zijn meer Groencomposteerinrichtingen. Er zijn er ruim 60. Groot potentieel uit bossen, maar weinig kans. In Nederland hebben we een ander doel voor bos, plus het is niet rendabel om uit bos te oogsten. Vervolgens hebben we nog de Flora en Fauna wet. Veel compost gaat naar Duitsland. Niet zo elastische markt. Bruins en kwast: verwerken ook stromen uit de werken bij snelwegen.

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Willemsen Organisatie: Willemsen Geïnterviewde: Dhr. M. Wilemsen Datum: juli 2012 Ik leverde 100.000 ton per jaar aan Essent Cuijk. We hebben er binnen tien jaar, 15 jaar aan subsidie er doorheen gejast. Ik doe liever weinig zaken meer met energiebedrijven, opportunistisch. Wel kreeg ik door het contract gratis energie. We verkopen tegenwoordig veel aan pelleteerbedrijven en aan chipproducenten. We leveren bijvoorbeeld aan Electrobell elke 2,3 weken 2500 ton aan chips. In België is de wet veranderd, opeens konden er geen schepen meer heen. 33 Eur/ton45% was vroeger een bereprijs. Tegenwoordig voor 56 Eur ton/chips naar Electrobell. Dat komt mede doordat de inkoopprijzen van rondhout gigantisch stijgen. Het zaagsel verkoop ik aan pelleteerbedrijven (kattenkorrels) 56 EUR/ton chips tot 48% vocht verkoop ik aan energiecentrales Ik wil aan 5/6 partijen leveren. Dan krijgt elk 20-30 kton. Het zagerijproces gaat als volgt: Het rondhout wordt ontschorst en gemeten, de ronde stam wordt er afgespaand, daarna gescand, er wordt weer een stuk afgespaand tot een vierkant blok, daarna worden er planken gezaagd (ook hier komen weer chips vrij), en als laatste stap worden de planken op lengte gezaagd (zaagsel). Bij het verspaanderen komen er chips vrij en bij planken zagen komt er chips en zaagsel vrij. Van tevoren wordt het hout al ontschorst. Aan het einde van het proces lijft 52% over aan chips en zaagsel. Van die 52% is er +/ 20 % zaagsel. En 32% chips. Exclusief schors. Bouwhout heeft maar 76% rondhout rendement. Bij sommige platen houd je ong 48% over. Gemiddeld 56% rendement. Dit getal is eerlijker dan een theoretisch rendement van 48%. Het schors gaat naar composteerbedriven en tuinders. Veel in Belgie. Soms gaat schorsprijs over prijzen chips heen. Schors is ongeveer 18% van het aangeleverde hout. Willemsen verzaagt ongeveer 230.000m3 tot 350.000m3 rondhout per jaar. Oftewel 800m3 per dag aan chips. Veel Duitse zagerijen zagen maar een paar maten. Puur op export gericht. Op een gegeven moment ging de bouw minder, dus Duiste bedrijven konden ook minder leveren. Twee jaar geleden waren chips duurder dan zaagsel. Afgelopen tijd was zaagsel duurder dan chips. Tegenwoordig gelijke prijzen (schoon zaagsel). Spaanplaten gaan naar België. Tegenwoordig verkoop ik ze voor 41 EUR/ton43-45% Afgelopen jaren voor 34-65 EUR per ton. Ik verkoop alleen aan spaanplaten als er teveel voorraad ophoopt. Dan vul ik een paar boten. Ik ben de chips liever kwijt dan rijk. Boschips zijn goedkoper maar die bevatten veel zand, groen en chloor.

Afspraken maken op de houtchipsmarkt heeft geen zin. Markt is te wispelturig. Wisselt tussen 30-60 EUR/ton. Van Willemsen gaat er geen zaagsel direct naar energie. Wel naar pelletproducenten en koeienstallen. Van chips ging er 2 jaar geleden 100% direct naar energie, nu nog maar 5%. 53

Probos Organisatie: Probos Geïnterviewde: Dhr. J. Oldenburger Datum: juli 2012

Overgrote deel biomassa in Nederland door omvormingen zoals de Betuwelijn. Of omgevormd door zandomvormingen. Of dunningen Amerikaanse eik. Probos heeft een casestudie gedaan: Groen goud uit Nederlands hout. Ze hebben gekeken naar de kosten van bosbeheerders om biomassa te leveren aan een kleine biomassacentrale. Er werden containers bij kleine bosbeheerders geplaatst, waar ze hout in konden leggen. Zelfs in het meest positieve scenario was het nog te duur voor de kleinere bosbeheerder om biomassa te leveren. Henk Kwast zegt dat het nog minstens 6 euro per ton verschilt. In Nederland is er een degressief energiesysteem, hoe meer je afneemt hoe minder je betaalt. Enige andere kostenanalyse heeft Vis van SBB gedaan maar deze is gedateerd. Natuurbudgetten zijn met 60% gedaald. Omvormingen valt in de toekomst weg. Houtwallen zijn kleine stroompjes. Houtige biomassa leveren draait om logistiek.. In Nederland heeft veel natuur cultuurhistorische waarde.

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12landschappen Organisatie: 12landschappen Geïnterviewde: Dhr. H. bartelink Datum: juli 2012

12landschappen is prematuur op biomassa voor energie. De 12 landschappen bestaat uit 12 aparte stichtingen. Het is een koepelorganisatie. De organisatie is niet de baas. Ze kunnen kijken of ze samen kunnen werken. De kracht en zwakte is dat ze regionaal opereren. Ook voor organisaties die regionaal werken. Bijvoorbeeld voor de Rabobank, die ook per provincie opereert. Ze willen bijvoorbeeld geent landelijke samenwerking met bijvoorbeeld de HEMA. Afgelopen 2-3 jaar bij (5,6 x per jaar overleg) bij vergaderingen over biomassa leveren aan de energie industrie gepraat. Niet veel meer. Biomassa (economie, duurzaamheid en logistiek) moet volgens landschappen regionaal karakter hebben. Op regionaal niveau aanpakken. De 12landschappen is ongeveer even groot als NM. Per provincie verschilt de perceptie over het leveren. De vraag is of de 12landschappen willen leveren aan een grote maatschappij als Nuon of liever aan regionale partijen. Provincie Noord-Holland is er niet voor aan grootschalige levering aan bijvoorbeeld Cuijk, Het merendeel van de provincies denkt nog niet serieus na over het leveren van biomassa aan de energie-industrie. Aantal omvormingen neemt waarschijnlijk langzaam af.

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Ecochip Organisatie: Ecochip Geïnterviewde: Dhr. C. Siero Datum: juli 2012

Ecochip is nu leverancier van torrefractie pellets. Aantal chips gaat naar Duitsland. Tegenwoordig heeft hij een energiestraat opgebouwd in Duitsland. Ook levert hij voor particulieren het knackholz en pellets. In Duitsland is de mogelijkheid om chips te drogen tot 20% vochtgehalte voor kippenboeren. Als iemand verstand van biomassa heeft zijn het de groeninrichtingen.. Gooi homogeen materiaal in biomassaboilers. Er mogen verschillede materialen in, maar mix het. Transport van biomassa kost 10 euro per ton tot max 120 km. Het knelpunt bij biomassa leveren is de logistiek. Chips zijn niet zoals kolen en pellets. Ze zijn niet zo homogeen. De energie-industrie is sterker dan de spaanlaatindustrie. Chips komen vrij bij het zaagproces. De chips worden aan verschillende industrieën geleverd. T&P chip is de thermomechanische pulp chip. MDF-platen wordt gemaakt uit de duurdere chip. Deze wordt gemaakt uit de chip helemaal zonder schors. Naar de spaanplaatindustrie gaat de chip met schors. Als vierde wordt de chip aan biomassa energie geleverd. Boschips zijn in te delen in: -Takken en toppen -Volboomchips. Hier worden te dikke stammen door de chipper gehaald. Vb. populier. Onze houtindustrie kan niet de dikke bomen chippen. Soms worden er zelfs grote bomen gechipt. Met name bij populieren. -Landschapschips Als je maximaal 200,000 m3 vers hout oogst in Nederland voor energie dan doe jet het goed. Prijs is volledig logistiek afhankelijk. Je bent aangewezen op import. Je moet bij water zitten. 45 euro per ton kosten chips ongeveer.

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Rijkswaterstaat Organisatie: Rijkswaterstaat Datum: augustus 2012

RWS onderhoud bermen tot 13m langs rijkswegen. De kosten van de verwerking van biomassa is duur. Ook is er tegenwoordig veel minder onderhoud. Aannemers mogen in gesloten beperkingen (bosjes) de biomassa achter laten. Meestal wordt dit ook gedaan. De natuurfunctie neemt af bij RWS vanwege bezuinigingen. Daardoor is snoeien als maatregel geschrapt, waar dat kan. Het wordt alleen nog gedaan vanwege veiligheid. RWS is verdeeld in regio’s en districten. Contractpartij wordt voor vijf jaar vastgelegd. Marktpartijen nog niet gedreven met afvoer biomassa. Er is 4500 ha bosjes langs de wegen, welke geen productiefunctie hebben. De meeste laten ze tegenwoordig staan. Er worden geen dunningen gedaan.

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Nederlandse Fruittelers Organisatie Organisatie: Nederlandse Fruittelers Organisatie Geïnterviewde: Dhr. H. bus Datum: juli 2012

Visie boomgaarden: steeds minder hout in de boomgaard. Nederland is koploper in laaghangend fruit, dus steeds minder hout. Technisch kan er wel hout geleverd worden aan biomassacentrales, maar het economische plaatje klopt niet. Nu wordt het hout dat vrijkomt bij het rooien van de boomgaarden gechipt en met stikstof in de grond gespoten om de bodem te voeden. Dit is een kleine cirkel. En wordt het bij het snoeien het hout langs de boomgaarden gelegd en wordt het daarna geshredderd of gechipt en achtergelaten. Als het hout ziek is mag het verbrand worden. NFO verwacht niet dat boomgaarden energiehout gaan leveren.

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