Forest harvest residues are generally seen as having little or no value. Some forest managers view it as a cost, since residues must be treated or managed. This may no longer be the case.
There is increasing demand for biomass for conversion to all forms of user energy (heat, electricity and liquid fuels). Forest residues can be used to make all of these.
With increased demand comes the potential for an increase in value. Forest residues are already being sold for up to $10 per tonne in some forests. This value may be converted into a value per hectare, or into revenue by the use of the residue volume calculators on this site (links below) along with a per tonne value that is appropriate.
It is not unreasonable to assume a value of $5 to $10 per tonne, with the potential for this to rise. This figure is the value of material in the forest. It is not a processed or delivered price, but more akin to a stumpage price.
An example of the value that might be derived from forest harvest residues, where we assume the material is harvested and sold fresh and 1 tonne = ~1m3 is presented below.
From a site with flat to rolling terrain (ground based logging) and a total recoverable volume (TRV) of 500m3 per ha:
- Landing residues = 4% of TRV = 20m3 per ha
- Cutover residues = 50m3 per ha recoverable
- Total = 70m3
| $5 m3 | $10 m3 | $20 m3 |
| Landing residues | $100 per ha | $200 per ha | $400 per ha |
| Cutover residues | $250 per ha | $500 per ha | $1000 per ha |
| All residues | $350 per ha | $700 per ha | $1400 per ha |
This material could be sold direct to a fuel user (wood processor or other industry with a heat demand) and removed by contractors on their behalf.
Forest residues are not limited to use within the forest or wood processing industry. Wood can be used in coal fired boilers as it can be co-fired with coal at rates of up to 10% of the fuel.
Online calculators have been developed that can be used to estimate the volumes of these residues based on harvesting system and crop quality.
...top The price that forest residues can be sold for as fuel (or feedstock for fuel production) is largely determined by the price of the alternatives, such as coal and natural gas.
Forest growers can determine their potential return from residues by understanding this market and the costs associated with the supply chain for the fuel.
A typical forest residue
recovery operation involves processing residues on a landing site using a
mobile hogger. These processed residues are then loaded into trucks and
transported to an end-user.
Our online calculators can be used to estimate the cost associated with this type of operation:
In addition, the indicative costs of delivery of landing residues to a number of locations around New Zealand based on potential demand are graphed in our supply curve tool.
This tool also shows the impact of fuel price and residue purchase price on the delivered cost.
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