Guidelines

Wood fuel is a clean and renewable energy source. Burning wood fuel has a low net greenhouse effect as the CO2 given off is absorbed by the growth of the next crop. Wood fuel is playing an increasingly important role in
generating energy.

Wood fuel includes any woody biomass suitable for energy production, such as branches, bark and stem wood. The focus of these guidelines is on residues from landings - currently the largest unused source of woody biomass.

The Wood Fuel Classification Guidelines have been developed by EECA in partnership with the Bioenergy Association of NZ (BANZ). They are voluntary standards developed for New Zealand conditions based on existing quality standards for wood energy in Europe, New Zealand and Australia. The guidelines provide a means for wood fuel suppliers to classify their fuel and additionally provide quality assurance to fuel users. A copy of the Guidelines can be found on the EECA Business website.

Wood used for energy does not fit well with a payment system that works using non-energy (eg. volume or weight). The energy content of wood is closely related to moisture content, and this can vary substantially, depending on the origin and storage history of the material. This study looks to determine the effects of moving from a weight-based payment system to a specific energy-content-based payment system at a large industrial site, using woody biomass as a fuel source on a large scale.