Norwegians are finding life too hard in line with rising electricity prices. According to a survey by Norstat, 340,000 Norwegian homes have had a new wood-burning stove in the last two years, according to Nationen. – The turnout has been enormous. That’s what Øyvind Stranna Larsen says, who is responsible for Norsk ved, a forum for wood producers. He says the demand for firewood already started in March and April. – So there are some firewood producers who have now run out, he says. – It is clear that when we are in such cold periods as now, the consumption of firewood is very high. And if we get a very hard winter beyond January and February, more and more firewood producers will run out of firewood. So it will become increasingly difficult to obtain firewood over time if we have a very hard winter, says Larsen. Øyvind Stranna Larsen is responsible for Norsk ved, forum for wood producers. Photo: Sigrid Sørumgård Botheim / news – People can chop for free But there are other opportunities to get firewood. In some cases, you also avoid paying for it. But then you have to work a little for it. Sander Solheim (23) is a farmer in Fjaler municipality in Sogn og Fjordane and has a good solution to the problem of overgrowth and lack of wood. He has too much forest, and would like to get rid of part of it. – People can cut for free, if they want to cut their own wood, he says. Solheim says that the interest has been good after he posted a message on Facebook that people could chop their own wood for free. So far, people from the local area have taken advantage of the offer. It was the local newspaper Firda that wrote about the case first. This is some of the forest on the property he offers. Regeneration of the cultural landscape has become a major problem in Norway. The farmer hopes that in this way he will be able to do something about this, while at the same time freeing up land. The 23-year-old says it is a mixed forest consisting of birch, pine, willow and rowan he offers. – This way I get more land that I can cultivate or that I can use for grazing, explains the farmer, who emphasizes that people must bring their own equipment. – I have plenty of forest and it is growing again all over the country, really. His call to others in the same situation is therefore clear: – I would encourage more landowners to think along the same lines, he says. The demand for firewood is huge right now. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB – It has become expensive And you can save quite a bit by cutting it yourself. Simen Gjølsjø is a senior advisor at the Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy at Ås, He researches wood and what is called calorific value. He estimates that the price of firewood has risen by almost 50 per cent in some cases in Norway since this summer. – Today, in December 2022, I see that it has become expensive for a sack of firewood. But if you had bought it this summer, I think you could almost get it for half the price compared to what is the case today, says Gjølsjø to news. The advice to the firewood expert is to buy in the summer, for those who can store the firewood, but also consider other types of wood than birch, which is popular among us Norwegians. For those who do not have access to their own firewood or have the opportunity to store larger purchases, it can quickly become expensive. – You must not only use birch, you can use other types of wood such as oak and ash and beech, not least. It has a higher energy content than there is in birch. You can fire with pine and spruce, too. It has a slightly lower energy content than the birch, but it provides warmth, too, he says.
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