Forestry Tasmania To Move Ahead With Biomass Energy

As part of the evolution of forest management, Forestry Tasmania is moving away from clear felling in most old growth forests, finding new ways to reduce the risks of wild fires, generating opportunities from the emerging carbon market, and reducing the impacts of planned burns on communities.

‘We are now coming to the end of the burning program and it has been a difficult season,” said Bob Gordon, Managing Director of Forestry Tasmania. “Conditions have allowed for fires to be lit safely”.

“I want to congratulate local governments, in particular the Hobart, Clarence and Launceston City councils for successfully conducting their own burns to reduce fuel loads at Mt Knocklofty, Kangaroo Bay and the Launceston Gorge. Many farmers are also burning off their organic waste at this time of year."

“We have managed to minimise smoke in communities during the initial lighting phase, by sending the bulk of the smoke high into the atmosphere, and there have been days where we haven’t burnt because the smoke modelling systems have indicated poor ventilation."

“It’s the large pieces of wood that often smoulder over a number of days that have contributed most to the smoke haze around the state. Biomass energy is part of the solution – these bigger pieces should instead be going into biomass plants. We can reduce the smoke going into the atmosphere, we can also generate renewable power. "

“For example, the biomass plant attached to the pulp mill will help provide that opportunity in the north of the state and FT is actively pursuing a plant at Southwood in the south of the state."

“While this form of energy is well accepted as a replacement for fossil fuel power stations in the rest of the world, notably California and Scandinavia, the economics have not yet been right in Tasmania."

“Driven by climate change, a carbon market is rapidly improving the economics here and we have been in discussions with a number of interested parties about the development of a southern facility. "

“In light of the concerns highlighted during this year’s burning season, we will now step up those discussions and do whatever we can to get a biomass plant on-line."

That is not to say that it will replace completely regeneration burns. Ash beds are necessary for regeneration. There will always be a need to burn some fine fuels on the forest floor."

There will also be a continued need to leave some of the bigger wood residue, whether on the coupe or in the surrounding bush to provide habitat for wildlife and support biodiversity."

“You will also be aware that we are reducing our reliance on clear-felling and moving more and more towards variable retention. Variable Retention (VR) in tall old growth is very challenging, but worthwhile. Our own research and leading international ecologists tells us so. We are still working out the most effective ways to do it."

VR harvesting means patches of old forests are retained at the stand level. VR is endorsed by leading international forest ecologists as the emerging ‘industry standard', along with high levels of forest reservation, when harvesting old-growth forests.

“VR is being phased in for most tall old-growth forests in wood production areas. The 2005 TCFA recognised this concern by committing to reduce clear felling to less than 20% of the annual old-growth harvest by 2010. "

“As far as regeneration is concerned, we can manage the smoke by applying smoke modelling, but more importantly by removing some of the big pieces of wood that tend to smoulder and putting them through a biomass plant."

“Although smoke from low intensity burns can create a nuisance, it is far preferable to a major wild fire putting communities at risk."


David Tuck, Corporate Relations 6233 8249
ENDS
23 April 2008