Brazil - Renewable Energy & Forest Preservation
This project is a power plant that uses sustainably harvested wood as a fuel, replacing electricity from polluting diesel generators. The result of this is that renewable energy is generated for Itacoatiara – an area in the Amazon with a population of around 80,000.
Emissions are reduced by around 165,000 tonnes per year. This is equivalent to the domestic energy emissions of a UK town of 60,000 people such as Scarborough.
Waste wood is used from about 450,000 hectares of sustainably managed and FSC certified Amazon forest. Sustainable harvesting means that no more than 5 trees are harvested per hectare every 25 years and that low-impact logging techniques are applied in order to preserve the wildlife and to protect the forest canopy.In addition, 25% of the forest is set aside for absolute preservation and access to the forest is controlled to prevent illegal deforestation and the hunting of endangered species.
Most of the harvested wood is used to make wood products with waste wood now being used as a fuel to generate electricity for the saw mill and the neighboring town.
The project’s other main environmental benefit is to protect an area of forest of around 1,800 square miles – roughly three-times the size of Greater London.
