A systems approach to risk and resilience analysis in the woody-biomass sector: A case study of the failure of the South African wood pellet industry

Abstract

Currently more than 600 million of the 800 million people in SSA are without electricity, and it is estimated that an additional 2500GW of power is required by 2030. Although the woodybiomass market in the developed world is relatively mature, only four woody-biomass plants in SSA have been established, all of which were closed by 2013. With its affordable labour, favourable climate and well-established forestry and agricultural sectors, South Africa appears to have the potential for a successful woody-biomass industry. This paper documents a first attempt at analysing why these plants failed. It aims to contextualise the potential role of a sustainable woody-biomass sector in South Africa, through firstly developing a SES-based analytical framework and secondly, using this to undertake a retrospective resilience-based risk assessment of the four former woody-biomass pellet plants in order to identify strategies for increasing the resilience of the industry. The SES-based framework advances previous theory,

A comprehensive review of the production, adoption and sustained use of biomass pellets in Ghana

“…However, the disparities in tree species and their properties observed in Ghana's timber industry pose a challenge for pellet production [ 34 , 53 ]. Although many biomass can be compressed into pellets, the homogeneity of the feedstock is significant in producing good-quality pellets [ 16 ]. However, an assessment of six popular wood species in Ghana [ 54 ] reported good gross calorific value and ash contents suitable for pellet production according to Austria standards [ 55 ].…”

“…They produce low emissions and have other desirable characteristics that make them suitable for direct use in residential and industrial energy production [ 14 ]. The biomass pellet market and use scenario has become a vital part of the energy sector and thus is evolving continuously at a faster rate [ [15] , [16] , [17] ]. Global consumption of pellets grew from about 16 million tons in 2010 to 59 million tons in 2020 [ [18] , [19] , [20] ].…”

Sentiments toward use of forest biomass for heat and power in canadian headlines

“…Besides global concerns, local considerations are also extremely important to deciding whether bioenergy projects can be undertaken [ [33] , [34] , [35] , [36] ]. For instance, because of the prevalence of direct burning of local waste materials for energy in Africa, small-scale bioenergy technology was proposed to improve respiratory health as well as access to electricity [ 30 ].…”

“…For instance, because of the prevalence of direct burning of local waste materials for energy in Africa, small-scale bioenergy technology was proposed to improve respiratory health as well as access to electricity [ 30 ]. However, technical aspects such as biomass contamination and raw material unreliability contributed to four failed pellet plants in South Africa [ 36 ]. Japan's growing adoption of bioenergy occurred in the shadow of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster [ 8 ]; for six pilot projects in Japan, number of media channels and growth in public acceptance for bioenergy predicted project success, rather than initial community acceptance of bioenergy [ 37 ].…”

The Age Factor in the Analysis of Occupational Risks in the Wood Industry

“…In the case of the wood-processing sector (including felling, pruning, transport, quartered, truncation, drying and brushing the wood) workers are exposed to a wide range of risks on a daily basis, some of which are potentially serious and may lead to serious accidents at work or occupational diseases [ 11 , 12 ]. This is a sector in which physical work continues to be the protagonist, in addition to the use of high-risk machinery [ 13 ].…”