Germany's biomass power plants and the wood-based panel mills came through the first quarter with relative ease. In the past, the market had often been shaped by scant supply at this time of year. Of course, "the absence of any real winter significantly benefited the industry," one processor said, expressing a widely held opinion on the German market. Because of the weather, the construction sector had been able to operate without almost any interruptions.
Other factors, some of them only apparent on a regional basis, also helped supply to remain unproblematic in large parts of the country: a relatively large number of power plants in all regions went offline for overhauls or because of damage, with some of these stoppages being longer than planned. While material from the Netherlands is still pushing into north-western regions of Germany because of the stoppage of the HVC plant, sources noted that a great deal of waste wood from the UK was being offered in eastern parts of Germany. These lots had apparently originally been destined for Sweden and Norway, but mild weather there, too, had ensured good supply in these Scandinavian countries. Moreover, the unusually dry spring has likely had a positive impact on the calorific value of wood-based fuels.
