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Summary of our market study
French wood energy market estimated at €2 billion
Wood energy, which includes logs (firewood), wood pellets, wood chips and charcoal, is France's leading renewable energy source, accounting for almost 40% of the country's renewable energy consumption.however, its contribution to the French energy mix remains below 4%.
France's forest area covers 28% of the country's total land area, and increases by between 50,000 and 100,000 hectares every year. France marketed 38.1 million cubic meters of roundwood in 2019, with softwoods being the most widely harvested type.
Globally, the bioenergy sector, with wood as a solid biofuel, accounted for 85.7% of total bioenergy consumption. Wood fuel production grew by 0.4% a year, while wood pellets and charcoal saw significant production increases of 115% and 45% respectively.
The French market is showing stability, with an average market value of around €2 billion since 2013. The residential sector remains the main consumer, accounting for over 70% of wood-energy demand. Wood energy is the most popular renewable energy source in France, accounting for 36% of the country's renewable consumption.
Wood energy remains the cheapest form of energy in terms of kW/h compared with traditional sources. Prices can vary considerably from region to region, with a stere of wood ranging from 54 to 86 euros depending on the region.
The French wood energy market
90% of wood energy consumption is used for heating, with the residential sector being the main consumer, accounting for around 70% of consumption. The share of energy in wood-energy expenditure has risen from 12.4% to over 20%.
Demand is mainly for wood logs and wood pellets.
Firewood production rose by 8.3%, with pellet production the fastest-growing sector, with an increase of 115%. Europe leads the way in wood pellet production, accounting for more than half of global output.
In France, average energy expenditure has stabilized at around 1,500 euros per household per year. Wood energy accounts for just 2.77% of this expenditure, electricity being the main item.
Sales of residential wood-burning appliances have evolved over the years, from built-in fireplaces to freestanding fireplaces.
Players in the French wood energy market
The market is segmented between forestry operations, wood-energy specialists and general distributors.
Forest management and operations
The Office National des Forêts (ONF) is a central entity in the French wood energy market, primarily responsible for the management and operation of public forests.
Alliance Forêts Bois plays a similar role, overseeing the management and operation of public forests
Smurfit Kappa Comptoir du Pin and Comptoir des bois de Brive focus on the production and supply of wood products.
Firewood specialists
Suppliers such as France bois bûche meet residential heating needs.
Wood energy specialists
Badger, Biosylva, Cogra and EO2 are wood energy specialists, focusing on the processing and supply of refined products such as pellets and wood chips.
General retailers
General retailers such as Bois de chauffage, Leroy Merlin and Carrefour, although diversified in their offerings, contribute to the accessibility of wood energy products by stocking a variety of options for consumers.
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Definition and scope of study
The qualification of wood energy arises when wood is used for energy purposes, to produce heat, electricity or second-generation biofuels. Wood energy can be used as primary fuel but it can also be transformed industrially into by-products (solid, liquid or gaseous) that are also combustible.
Wood energy represents the the leading source of renewable energy in France (almost 40% of the total). However, despite its promising position within the renewable energy sector, its popularity is still not yet established within the overall energy sector of France. In fact, of the 245 toe (tonne of oil equivalent) of energy consumed in France in 2019, less than 4% came from wood energy.
Forest cover in France is extremely important for the wood energy in France, given how this is where the primary source of the product comes from. In fact, the forest covers 28% of the territory in metropolitan France (public and privately owned) and is growing by 75,000 hectares per year.
In terms of variations of wood energy sources, there are four main ones:
- Woold logs (firewood): Comes from raw roundwood and little processing is needed
- Wood pellets: Produced by compressing roundwood and typically comes from hardwood, although it may be a mix between hardwood and softwood
- Woodchips: Made from shredded wood
- Wood charcoal: Produced by heating the wood and removing all the water and oxygen from it
In this report, all of the sources will be mentioned, however, the scope will primarily cover wood logs (firewood) and wood pellets, given how they are the most significant in the French market.
The residential sector is by far the sector that consumes the most wood energy at 70% of the total consumption and therefore it is also the sector that contributes the most to the overall spending on this source of energy. On top of residential consumption, the main reason for consumption of wood energy is for heating purposes (over 90% of total wood energy consumption).
Beyond the residential heating which remains the main market outlet, the use of wood energy is also expanding industrial and district heating which have been progressing very rapidly since 2010.
Finally, the market for wood energy in France is extremely segmented, given how its operations are extremely dependant on local and regional operations.
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the wood energy market | France
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