Wood energy
Wood energy is a sustainable, largely domestically produced energy source. Wood is carbon-neutral, provided the amount burned is less than the amount regrown in the same period.
In Switzerland, wood is the second most important renewable energy resource after hydropower, particularly for meeting heating requirements. Wood is considered a renewable raw material if it is used sustainably, i.e. only as much wood is used as can be regrown. Wood energy accounts for 5.4% of total final energy consumption in Switzerland and around 12% of heating requirements. In the event of a fuel shortage, more wood from Swiss forests can be used while still being harvested sustainably.
The strong and rapid increase in demand for the Swiss wood energy range, particularly in 2021 and 2022, made it difficult to ensure a secure supply of wood. Reasons for this included the COVID-19 pandemic, subsidy programmes, climate change and the war in Ukraine, which led to major shifts and price increases across the entire European energy market. The umbrella organisation Holzenergie Schweiz has conducted periodic monitoring of wood energy use in Switzerland since 2024, the aim being to ensure sustainable supply.
Monitoring for wood pellet supply
Monitoring in the wood pellets sector, begun in 2015, was extended at the beginning of 2025 to include supply forecasting. This is based on the following data:
- market monitoring by proPellets.ch
- pellet stove sales figures from GebäudeKlima Schweiz
- pellet import figures from the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS)
- wood energy statistics from the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE)
- a reporting system for producers and dealers about production outages and other disruptions
Monitoring of the wood pellet market has proven very useful, and allows the sector to remain flexible and react to shortages. The NES is convinced that security of supply can be maintained thanks to this monitoring. Wood pellets represent around 12% of the total wood energy market.