Alternative investment advocacy organization, AAA (Alternative Asset Analysis) has welcomed news of a new campaign to encourage wood fuel use in Scotland, but it says more needs to be done.
Boston, Mass, May 18, 2011 — Alternative investment advocacy organization, AAA (Alternative Asset Analysis) has welcomed news of a new campaign to encourage wood fuel use in Scotland, but it says more needs to be done.
The new campaign is a partnership between the Scottish government and the Forestry Commission Scotland. They are hoping to convince Scottish homeowners and business owners to opt to use wood fuel as a renewable and cheaper alternative to fossil fuels.
The campaign is intended to promote demand for renewable forestry products as options for heating homes ahead of the launch of the government’s new Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) later this year. “The launch of the RHI will drive a large number of people in the UK to start considering renewable heating options such as biofuels and wood fuels, which can both be produced through sustainable forestry projects,” explained AAA’s analysis partner Anthony Johnson.
He added, “These kinds of projects incentivize the cultivation of sustainable forest land in the UK, which is great for wildlife and for anyone who might want to invest in trees in the region.”
Forestry Commission Scotland is keen to drive the growth in demand for wood fuel. Rebecca Carr, the Commission’s renewables adviser, said, “Burning wood for heat benefits the environment and supports rural economies – it gives users and suppliers a true fuel good factor, with more and more businesses and individuals recognizing that switching to wood fuel can save operating costs.”
AAA has pointed out that incentives are a great way to encourage the take-up of wood fuel and wood products in general. New legislation brought in in Brazil, for example, made it difficult to buy and use native trees in industry, as a way of preventing further deforestation. As a result, non-native forestry projects, such as the plantations being managed by investment firm Greenwood Management, offer a sustainable alternative, while helping to establish valuable habitat for wildlife in Brazil.
Burning logs, pellets and wood briquettes currently cuts emissions by 500,000 tonnes a year – and this figure still has a long way to rise, according to the Forestry Commission. Although some critics have claimed that the biomass plants scheduled to open in Scotland could be somewhat reliant on imported timber, the Forestry Commission claims these critics ignore the carbon reduction benefits that wood fuel heating brings, compared with oil or coal burning.
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Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
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Boston, MA 02109-1320
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