Biomass harvested from the forest for energy use is energy wood. Stumps, crown pulp, unpruned whole wood and pruned trunk wood are different kinds of energy wood fractions.
The energy wood trade has seen development all over Finland. There has been demand for both whole wood collected from thinnings and logging residues from clear-cut areas. For forest owners, the sale of wood as energy wood is often a competitive alternative to the sale of pulpwood to a forest company in terms of price.
Methods of felling trees for energy wood
Energy wood can be harvested from both untreated and managed forests. In most cases, energy wood is harvested as a whole tree or as pruned trunks during the first thinning.
In whole tree harvesting, tops and branches are also collected. Integrated harvesting means that both fiber wood and energy wood are harvested from the forest at the same time. Separate harvesting means that only energy wood is harvested.
Wood is delivered to power plants
Energy wood is collected for power plants operating in the area. In addition to large plants, smaller energy plants also operate in many provinces. Energy trees should always be delivered dry, so they must be stored for one summer.
That is what separates energy wood from pulpwood and logs, which are cut for immediate use, because they must be received fresh for processing. In this way, energy wood can also be seen to have a balancing effect on the market, because it is harvested from the forests for the following year.
What is an energy wood?
Wood that is not suitable as material wood is called energy wood. This is especially the tops, stumps and branches of clearcuts and thinning wood harvested from young forest.
Energy wood is typically delivered for the production of electricity and heat. The price paid for energy wood is determined by the quality, quantity, transport distance and trading method of the wood.
Equipment used in harvesting energy wood
When harvesting energy wood, tree shears developed for the purpose are typically used, with a forest machine, excavator or tractor as the base machine. With the best tree shears, you can both cut, pile and load wood. For example, KX tree shears are suitable for forest service entrepreneurs, farmers, earthmoving entrepreneurs and green entrepreneurs.

Up to 25% more income
Energy wood is bought through vertical or procurement trade all over Finland. It is important for the forest owner to ensure that the forest remains productive after thinning.
In itself, thinning felling to collect energy wood is a typical maintenance felling. Here, however, the harvest marks are cleaner and the felling accumulation is greater. It is due to the fact that wood suitable for energy use is collected from the top of the tree, unlike in the case of collecting fiber wood. For the forest owner, cutting energy wood can mean an increase of up to a quarter of the income from harvesting.