A new project to improve wood fuel efficiency
29/08/2018
Project Name: Optimisation du fonctionnement des chaufferies bois
Acronym: OPTIWOOD
Duration: 06/2018 – 06/2020 (24 mois)
Total budget: 468 740 €
ERDF: 374 992 €
This Micro-Project led by the Association d'Initiatives Locales pour L'Énergie et l'Environnement (Association for Local Energy and Enivromental issues) will create a training programme that will significantly improve the way commercial wood boiler plants are managed.
The project, known as OPTIWOOD, will focus on teaching wood boiler operators new skills that will help them to improve the efficiency and management of their plants.
They will also learn how to use innovative tools developed by the partners such as an application which aims to support the operators to better monitor the plants. The project is expected to improve efficiency by 10% which will significantly reduce the amount of CO2 emissions produced by this type of energy production.
Over 12 plants in the UK and France will participate in the project which is predicted to reduce CO2 emissions by 6400 tons per year. Additional events will be organised across the Channel area to train more boiler operators.
Wood boilers are considered an important part of Europe’s renewable energy mix, with the sector needing to double production by 2030 to ensure the EU’s renewable energy targets are met.