Estimation of the biomass resources of Estonia
Estimation of the resources of woody biomass – harvesting residues, wood processing residues and wood from non-forest lands
Majority of nature lands in Estonia produce herbaceous biomass and the amount of woody biomass that is available is modest. The total length of power lines in Estonia is 57 thousand km. The area of traces of power lines passing through forests is 38.5 thousand ha and the potential yield of woody biomass is 42 thousand tons (the calorific value is 521 TJ).
The total volume of wood processing residues from Estonian sawmills can be estimated to be 600 thousand m3 of sawdust (the calorific value 3 180 TJ) and 500 thousand m3 of bark (the calorific value 2 650 TJ). Additional quantities of wood processing residues come from furniture, plywood, boards, glued-laminated timber and other industries. As the sawdust is used as a raw material for production of pellets and all big sawmills consume the bark as a main fuel for production of technological heat, limited amounts are left for other consumers of woody biomass.
