Energy transition and the role of forest land in the metabolism of Finnish society

Abstract

Energy transition presents a particular challenge for Finland, where per capita use of energy and natural resources is one of the highest in the EU. Replacing the fossil energy produced outside of Finland with domestically produced energy, creates problems for zoning, industrial division of labour, and the social acceptability of resource use. Historically, the needs of the forest sector have formed the core of industrial energy and resource use in Finland. It has been accepted that most of the harvested wood is used for energy production in the forest sector itself. Due to the energy transition and the incipient forms of pricing for carbon storage and for upholding biodiversity, forest land gains uses that are an order of magnitude more efficient and also economically alluring. The energy efficiency of forest land use is the lowest for use in bioenergy production. By using the forest area for the production of solar and especially wind power, energy efficiency increases, and in the case of wind energy a large portion of the wood growing in the area is released for other uses, either as raw material in the industry of as a resource for the ecological health of the forest itself.