A growing proportion of forest raw materials that can’t be used for saw logs or raw material for pulp production are used to produce biofuel. Södra Skogsenergi purchases forest fuel mostly from Södra members.

Fuel wood of every imaginable type and quality is cut into three-meter lengths for combustion. Even decayed trees can be used in this way.

Residual products from felling are used to make forest chips. Branches, tops, small trees and other tree parts are used to produce fuel for district heating plants, etc. The energy content of different types of wood varies greatly; oak and beech have much more energy than trees such as alderwood.

Residual products like stumps are increasingly used for fuel. As demand for biofuel grows this is an underutilised resource which could help reduce the use of fossil fuels.

Increasingly, residual forest products are being transported to terminals for processing to chips, etc. As well as improving logistics, it also helps lower transport costs.

Biofuel is removed from the forest in harmony with the natural ecocycle. Material needed for biological diversity is always left after felling and the nutrient-rich ash produced in district heating plants is returned to the forest.