July 16 this year The Sejm adopted an amendment to the act on renewable energy sources, which extends the definition of energy wood, increasing the possibilities of burning biomass from forests in power plants. It is to apply until the end of 2021. The Ministry of the Environment was responsible for the development of the latest amendment to the Act on renewable energy sources. The novel is episodic and will apply from October 1 this year. until December 31, 2021
During this period, energy wood will be considered:
- Wood material other than sawmill and cut wood, logs, saw logs and cut wood, and wood material resulting from the deliberate comminution of this wood material;
- By-products resulting from the processing of wood raw material, not contaminated with substances not naturally present in wood;
- Waste resulting from the processing of wood raw material, not contaminated with substances that do not occur naturally in wood, managed in accordance with the hierarchy of waste management methods.
As indicated in the justification to the amendment – the introduction of a new definition will prevent the depreciation of timber obtained in forests as a result of reduced timber collection by industrial plants, resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. An additional factor stimulating the improvement of the economic situation by not reducing the acquisition of wood raw material will be the stability of employment in Zakłady Usług Leśnych.