Are you pleased to see firewood prices so high as an environment minister
Heating is not under the jurisdiction of the minister for the environment.
Logging is not?
Indeed. I am happy that forest owners get paid fair prices if they decide cut down their forest to make firewood. However, there are better ways to attach value timber such as construction materials and logs for homebuilding. These timbers fetch many times their price. The situation is less favorable for those who want to purchase firewood, as the costs have risen and the cost of energy has risen on all fronts.
Gray alder ends up on tens or thousands of hectares. It is not valuable timber, and has a very short carbon capture time. The state could subsidise alder logging and transport to boiler plant plants.
Gray alder is not worthless, I believe. It can be used to smoke fish, meat, or build saunas. Its profitability is not something I can speak to. That would be something you would have to ask forest owners.
Why are we paying Russian gas, but allowing gray-alder woods to rot away, releasing CO2 into the atmosphere?
Alder needs to be out of the woods faster, I agree. It grows very quickly so it should be given a shorter life span. I hope landowners have noticed the high prices of firewood and can get a fair price for their alder.
According to the oil shale industry, Russian gas could be easily replaced by shale oil. What did you think about last week’s news that oil-shale mining was set to increase dramatically?
It is a security issue where we replace imported fuel with what can be produced ourselves. It is a sensible move in the short-term. But, in the long-term, we must look for alternatives to shale oil.
Woodchips are therefore preferred as a renewable resource for turning oil shale to electricity.
In our time, oil shale is not a sustainable resource. However, mining has been restructured in recent years and I don’t see anything dramatic. The permits for mining are all from a previous period. Eesti Energia has pledged to be a carbon neutral company by 2040. I believe that it will.
We need to endure at least three winters. If Russian gas is not available in the summer, and the LNG ship project is abandoned, then we have no other option than to increase the use of boiler plants’ firewood.
Even now, 80% of Estonian houses use wood for heating. We are fortunate that we can use the resources we have for heating. District heating uses very little natural gas and is mainly used as an additional fuel to reduce peak consumption.
The risks in industry are higher and I hope they realize it. They will need to look at alternatives if they can’t replace it with biomethane. Estonia is not affected by gas taps being shut off, as in Central Europe. However, these countries have greater financial resources than Estonia so I hope we can avoid buying oil, gas, or coal from Russia.
Estonia is prepared to export woodchips if needed to Western Europe?
Of course. We need to export surplus money to Estonia. We can use it for Estonia’s economic growth.
However, we must also ensure that our employees don’t endanger themselves in cold rooms. I have always wondered about the lack of long-term agreements between district heating providers and woodchip buyers. It is possible to guarantee delivery and I would recommend it. Timber wholesalers have long contracts signed with the state forest manager RMK. Some timber is procured on the open market. The contribution of the open markets is not 100% and long-term agreements provide some assurance.
Strategic stockpiles of wood could be created, similar to the ones we have for oil products. The Ministry of Economic Affairs should be actively involved in this endeavor, as we don’t have any such reserves. Boiler plants are not able to secure deliveries through permanent contracts. Everything is up to the market. Last year, it was not the best. I hope that lessons have been learned.
How big should these stockpiles need to be?
I cannot answer. I cannot say. As spring timber should be dried, it is best to have at least two years.
Finland has already taken the decision to slow down the process of weaning off peat, and is currently stockpiling several decades’ worth. What are we waiting?
We have not been approached by district heating providers to suggest that this could be an option.
What about the Luunja Boiler Plant near Tartu?
There is no end date to peat mining. We have the long-germ objective. If the peat industry sees this as an opportunity, it would be a great way to heat Tartu.
In light of Russian imports disappearing, the Finns are also planning to increase their felling volumes. Wednesday’s complicated situation was discussed by the Riigikogu State Budget Control Select Committee. Are you sticking to the view that logging volumes shouldn’t be increased for industrial uses?
We have received many proposals for the logging volume debate at the ministry. Some would like to see the entire timber industry closed down, while others would like to see logging volumes doubled. We are currently analyzing all options in order to find a reasonable compromise.
The bark beetle infestation in our forests will also affect the decision. The beetle damage to spruce woods is far greater than the area that was intended for felling. This will change.
We will also be looking into other species of trees. The sustainable forest management plan that was adopted last fall would allow for higher logging volumes.
In order to save money for a few more years, we will have to cut more temporarily.
There are many things to take into consideration. We want to see Estonian woods age more evenly, which will require increased logging volumes over the next few years. In fact, the logging volume was reduced by 13 percent in 2022 purely for political reasons. This means that there were no conservational and economic considerations. In this sense, there is still room for negotiation.
The reduction of 13 percent could therefore be reversed, as it was a decision of the previous minister.
If we are able to reach an agreement, it might happen. We also need to consider the time frame. It’s nesting time now, and the woods seem quiet. Contracts should be used to protect volumes that change. This allows for logging to begin in the fall.
Will there be a decision within the next weeks?
It must happen before Midsummer Day. I am hoping that we will reach an agreement in May. I urge the timber sector as well as consumers to examine their habits to see if alternative materials are possible, or to use existing material in an optimal manner.
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The more mature a forest gets, the more likely it is that a rare moss or mushroom, plant, or animal species will be discovered that will make it unmarketable. The 60 to 110 private owners of forests are paid depending on the protection system. This is a pittance when compared to the 10,000 salary following the final cut of a hectare.
First, we need to have a discussion about whether all these forests should be made into protected areas. These natural resources may be protected in another way. While it is possible to revisit support rates, this requires another political agreement. I personally support the idea of paying people more in compensation. //
The Land Board currently manages approximately 50,000 hectares worth of forest land, where there is no management. Why not sell these lands instead? The money could be used for the purchase of protected land currently held in private hands.
The ministry wants to create a situation in which forests are owned by RMK, and farmland is owned by the board. The process is underway and the Land Board will no longer be responsible for large areas of forest.
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