The rainforest in Brazil is at risk. Sustainable forest management is hardly an established practice in South America's largest country. That is what makes the Electricity from FSC wood chips project in the Amazonas town of Itacoatiara so impressive. It combines sustainable wood harvesting and forest management with efficient production of electricity from renewable energies.
myclimate project head, Martin Jenk, recently visited Itacoatiara. His impressions are recorded in the new myclimate film, which demonstrates in a striking manner how local involvement and international support oriented toward high standards can bring about a project that both protects natural resources and brings great benefits to people in the locality.
The project is the first in the world to earn emissions certificates on the basis of sustainably harvested biomass from a forest management system certified by the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council). Using wood chips replaces diesel generators and supplies the town's inhabitants, numbering approximately 80,000, with climate-friendly electricity. The plant generates up to 56,000 MWh of electricity per year – which would normally call for a good five million litres of diesel.
The 100,000 tonnes of waste wood come from the nearby sawmill, and are generated entirely from sustainable forest management in line with FSC directives. At one time, wood waste rotted in huge piles on the grounds, which resulted in annual emissions of about 45,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents from methane.