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SAC Leading European Woodfuel Training Project
Woodfuel burning (opens in new window)
SAC Consulting have won a bid to lead a new pan-European project to develop a Wood Energy Training Network for Europe.
Over the next two years, the Wood Energy Training Network, or WETNet, will be developing European core competency standards for the woodfuel sector, including the training materials necessary to deliver the core competencies to woodfuel entrepreneurs. The final stage of the project will focus on training a pan-European network of woodfuel “supertrainers” to ensure quality delivery on the ground.
With the Renewable Heat Incentive finally here, the next few years will see a rapid increase in the number of woodfuel installations in the UK, and a resulting increase in the demand for quality woodfuel. At present, the woodfuel supply sector in the UK is still immature, and there is no coordinated approach to the development of woodfuel production skills, with very little training available. The aim of the WETNet project is to address this gap with practical action. If the UK is going to develop mature, reliable woodfuel supply chains, then it is critical that potential woodfuel entrepreneurs obtain the skills they need to take advantage of this opportunity.
The project has been funded under the EU Leonardo da Vinci Transfer of Innovation fund. SAC are leading the project on behalf of six other partners drawn from five other countries: France, Austria, Estonia, Turkey and Finland. The countries involved have a wide range of experience, with Finland and Austria having mature, well developed woodfuel sectors, to countries such as the UK who are still in the early stages of market development.
The project, which kicked off at the Centre Forestiere training centre in France in mid-November, will draw on woodfuel expertise and experience from across Europe, and develop ‘the best of the best’ woodfuel training.
SAC’s Senior Biomass Energy Consultant, Neil Harrison, who has been involved in woodfuel training in the UK and internationally for almost 10 years, said: “We are delighted that the Leonardo da Vinci programme recognised the pressing need for knowledge transfer and skills development in the growing UK woodfuel sector. Challenging government targets for renewable energy and the arrival of the RHI makes the importance of creating a highly skilled workforce a pressing issue for the sector.
Woodfuel production is a skilled task, and many businesses have struggled to enter the sector profitably, while at the same time keeping abreast of changing legislation, changes to quality standards and evolving best practice. The six project partners, drawn from across the EU, and including the Turkish State Forestry Service, are committed to delivering a project which provides a step-change in the range and quality of training available to the sector. ”
The WETNet project will shortly be looking for input from the forestry and woodfuel industries, gathering opinions on what skills and training are needed to ensure the UK woodfuel sector delivers on the promise of the RHI.
Anyone interested in taking part in the survey should contact Kate Hutchinson, Biomass Energy Consultant at SAC at kate.hutchinson@sac.co.uk.
More information on WETNet is available on the EduForest website.