Wood heating increases your energy independence

To increase your energy independence, you can always count on wood heating.

The crises of recent years have revealed certain weaknesses and limitations in the French energy system: first, our dependence on imported fossil fuels; second, the volatility of certain energy prices and third, the tensions on the electricity network in winter with the risk of temporary power cuts. In this period of turmoil and uncertainty, wood energy has remained stable with relatively constant availability and prices (only wood pellets experienced a more turbulent period before returning to normal).

As a local, carbon-free, renewable and available resource, wood is a reliable energy source that can be relied upon both individually and nationally. Moreover, and it is not always well known, domestic wood energy already plays a crucial role in balancing the French energy system every winter, since in the evening, during peak demand, it helps relieve pressure on the electricity network by eliminating the equivalent of 10 nuclear reactors or 10 GW.

• What are the challenges of energy independence for a nation? And for us, citizens? 
• Whether we talk about energy independence, energy sovereignty or energy autonomy, it is always  a matter of answering three key questions:
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• How can we meet all energy needs? 
•  How can we do this in a controlled, continuous and sustainable manner? 
•  How can we offer this energy at the most affordable cost possible? 

This is because excessive energy dependence – whether on external suppliers or a particular energy source – can reduce a country's room for manoeuvre, weaken its economy and slow down its environmental ambitions. Conversely, a diversified and well-balanced energy mix strengthens stability, freedom of choice and action on both the national and international scenes.

For users, a robust and independent system protects against potential problems such as service continuity issues, price fluctuations and supply restrictions. The challenge is therefore to provide more comfort, visibility and security for everyone.

This is why it’s important to build the most robust energy mix possible, relying as much as possible on it’s own strengths. Among the energy resources available to France, wood energy is a major one that offers several advantages.

The advantages of wood energy  

• • Wood is an available resource 
• With nearly 17 million hectares of continuously expanding forests, France is one of the most densely wooded countries in Europe. Each year, the forest grows faster than it is exploited, since only half of the annual biological growth is harvested for all wood needs (timber + industrial wood + wood energy).
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Provided it is managed sustainably, France's forests represent a considerable energy reserve available on our own territory without any external intermediaries. Reassuring, isn't it?

• • The price of wood energy is stable 
• Because wood energy is less exposed to geopolitical fluctuations than fossil fuels or imported electricity. It provides security for citizens. 
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• • Wood energy is a local energy 
• No cargo ships, no pipelines, wood energy is generally consumed near the place where it is produced. This means that when you heat your home with wood, you are ‘investing’ in the local economy, supporting jobs that cannot be relocated (the wood heating industry accounts for 35 000 direct jobs!), strengthening local communities and their economic independence... It's a kind of circular economy that benefits everyone.
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• • Wood is a low-carbon energy source, an advantage in the success of the energy transition
• Decarbonising your energy mix without depending on others – especially in a tense international context – is better, isn't it?
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• • Wood is easy to store 
• Unlike gas or electricity, which are consumed directly as needed, wood can be stored. This means you can stock up in advance and build up a reserve that is ready to use at any time of the year. In short, you can manage your energy independently.
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• How much does wood heating weigh?
• If we talk about wood heating as a key element of the French and European energy mix, it's because its contribution is far from anecdotal. Here are several figures to measure the share of wood heating: 
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• In Europe, wood energy represents 20% of the heat consumed in homes, and 75% of the heat consumed in European homes.

• In France, it is estimated that domestic wood heating (logs and wood pellets) covers 24% of the heating needs of the residential sector.

• On winter evenings, during peak demand at 7 p.m., wood heating helps relieve the electricity network by eliminating the equivalent of 10 GW, or 10 nuclear reactors (study based on the IFOP survey for Cheminées Poujoulat in 2022 ).

As written in a recent opinion piece co-signed by numerous actors in the energy, transport, and industry sectors, including Cheminées Poujoulat, "recent events remind us that energy security relies on the diversity of supplies. The energy transition does not need solitary champions, it needs a collective committed to the same trajectory. Each low-carbon energy has its strengths—reliability, cost, flexibility, availability, storage potential—and its weaknesses—intermittency, operating costs, lack of flexibility, waste, and implementation time. Each one is an option for a technological future that we do not know and in which France must remain present." 

In a context where demand for electricity is growing quickly (with increased use in transport, the tech industry, and even in the home), the wood heating sector has a crucial role to play.

Wood heating is a lever for energy independence, which helps reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels, relieves the electricity network during periods of high demand, promotes an abundant and renewable French resource, and consolidates the local economy... all while supporting decarbonisation.