ÚRSO Ruling

WOLF was right in the BIOMASAKER campaign

In December 2014, the Regulatory Office for Network Industries (ÚRSO) published an analysis on the use of woodchips for electric energy production and heating energy production, in which it confirmed the findings of WOLF. ÚRSO found out that the incinerator facilities are purchasing wood matter through planted middlemen, with which they artificially increase the prices of the bought resource. Subsequently, the Office lowered the maximum price for woodchip, which producers of heat from this type of fuel can include into the price of heat by 26 %, and the Office planned to initiate changes in the current rules for assigning subsidies to the production of electric energy. ÚRSO confirmed that there are artificial increases in the prices of wood.

Analysis of woodchip use in electricity and heat production. ÚRSO

Wooden biomass extraction in the Poloniny National Park.

An important turning point in the BIOMASAKER campaign occured in February 2015. The Regulatory Office for Network Industries (ÚRSO) confirmed the suspicions of the WOLF Forest Protection Movement and was penalized with high fines.

On its website, ÚRSO published the resolution about the granting of fines for the companies BIOENERGY BARDEJOV s.r.o. and BIOENERGY TOPOĽČANY s.r.o. (the companies share common owners), in which the aforementioned entities were given fines, of up to 15 000 EUR for BIOENERGY BARDEJOV s.r.o. and 10 000 EUR for BIOENERGY TOPOĽČANY s.r.o.. The investigations were carried out based on the impetus of WOLF, as the forest protection movement suspected that these facilities are used for the burning of high quality wood, despite the fact that it is only legal to incinerate lower quality wood.

In its resolution, the Office states that the fined entities had lied about the quality class of wood used as fuel for electric energy production. By physical inspection of the storage and manipulation spaces of the fined entities, the Office had ascertained that they were burning wood of quality classes III and V, whereas in the documents that these companies presented to the Office, they stated they are utilising wood matter of quality class VI, i.e. the lowest quality wood (wood used as fuel). During the ÚRSO inspection, a total of 21 500 cubic metres of wood were stored on the grounds of BIOENERGY Bardejov, of which 18 000 cubic metres (84%) of wood was of quality class III and V and only 16 % of wood fulfilled the criteria of quality class VI, the burning of which is permitted.

The BIOENERGY Bardejov company states that they annualy burn ca 100 000 cubic metres of wood, for which they receive a state subsidy of 5,3 mil. EUR. ÚRSO had confirmed that 18 000 cubic metres of wood did not fulfill the conditions for the granting of this subsidy, i.e. 18% of the assigned subsidy (1 mil. EUR) were payed out in a manner that contravened the law, with the result being the truly „educational“ fine of 15 000 EUR.

Simultaneously, these decisions had confirmed the findings of WOLF, that subsidies for wood-burning are set far too generously and allow the subsidised entities to compete in pricing even with the wood-processing industry, incinerating high quality wood, even of quality class III. This causes not only the desctruction of forests and non-forest woody plant communities, such as shoreside growths, baulk meadows, windbreaks, overgrown areas, but also wood from national parks and other protected areas to end up in incineration facilities. In addition, this also has negative economic repercussions, such as the deformation of the market with wood and the disadvantaging of non-subsidised entities.

ÚRSO resolution on the granting of a fine to BIOENERGY BARDEJOV s.r.o.

ÚRSO resolution on the granting of a fine to BIOENERGY TOPOLČANY s.r.o.