G8 Environmental Futures Forum 2000

Detailed Description of Best Practices
France No.7

I. Title of the Best Practice

Wood-Fueled Heating Systems Financial Support Program

II. Overview of the Best Practice

A. Characteristics of the measure
1. Objectives
Wood resources are a rather common and low-cost fuel for heating. Even though wood for heating in domestic dwellings in its simplest form is very inefficient (efficiencies typically 12%), advanced technologies for wood combustion that enable biomass fired district heating have been developed in the last decade. Wood is also used as a fuel in the wood processing industry: burning waste wood as pellets for heating is often a low cost disposal option. However, the equipment to burn biomass fuels is more expensive than that to burn fossil fuel alternatives and capital cost is one of the main barriers to more widespread deployment. Public support to wood fueled heating equipment (mainly by financial incentives) is an efficient way to encourage large scale use of wood as a fuel and prove its reliability.

2. GHG targeted
CO2 is the main targeted gas through substitution of fossil fuel by sources of renewable energy like wood. As wood retains CO2 by photosynthesis, wood combustion is neutral in a CO2 emissions accountability.

3. public targeted
The support program targets local authorities such as municipalities (owning district heating) and wood processing industries. In particular, due to their available wood resources, rural districts are mainly targeted.

4. Design of the measure
Two levels of support are implemented:

- support of wood fueled heating equipment for collective use (e.g. municipal buildings, schools, social housing,...). The public subsidy is up to 60 % of the cost of the equipment, usually an automatic wood fueled central boiler. In some cases, construction or extension of district heating is needed: the public subsidy then extends partially to the extra cost. Such systems may supply a few buildings at one end of the scale through to whole districts on the other.

  • support of use of wood disposal as a fuel in the wood processing industries. The public subsidy is up to 30 % of the cost of the equipment.

  • Besides those financial incentives to wood fueled heating equipment, the program also supports feasibility studies (in order to assess the technical and economical feasibility of a potential wood heating investment - public subsidy: 50 % of the cost of the study), and all kind of action that aims at providing wood resources for existing or planned wood fueled heating equipment.

B. Reasons for inclusion as a Best Practice
An evaluation of the wood fueled heating systems support program implemented by the French agency for Environmental and Energy Management in eleven regions between 1994 and 1998 showed that the measure had turned out to be a real success.

Despite the low price of fossil fuel, about 200 wood fueled boilers have come into being during the last 5 years, representing a capacity of 165 MW.
55 Millions Francs has been dedicated by the Agency to the subsidies of these investments. The program has led to the substitution of about 45.000 toe / year of fossil fuel by wood, and has contributed to reduce CO2 emissions by about 35.000 tons of carbon equivalent/ year.

The evaluation also stressed the fact that in seven regions on eleven, the program has created a visible dynamic. In these regions, local authorities have come aware of the environmental and economical efficiency of wood heating substitution, and they are now ready to invest more money in it.

Moreover, because of substitution of imported energy (like oil) by local energy, the measure also led to more local activity and job creations.

III. Categorizing the Best Practice

1. classification : incentive.

2. social actors involved :

    Central government and public agency
    Industries
    Local authorities

3. Sectors

    Industrial enterprise
    Agriculture

4. Target (Greenhouse Gases)

    CO2

IV. List of Attachments

Plan Bois Energie et Développement Local 1994-1998: rapport d'évaluation. ADEME.

V. Contacts

F. Moisan Director of Strategy and Communication
ADEME : Agence de l'Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l'Energie
27 Rue Louis Vicat, 75015 Paris France.

Detailed Description of Best Practices - France No.7

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