The forest continues to grow in Val-de-Ruz, but it does so more slowly than in the past, in particular because of the drought it has suffered over the past two years. The Commune, the largest forest owner in the canton of Neuchâtel, has noticed this. In addition, adds the municipal councilor responsible for forests, Daniel Geiser, the potential for wood production has been somewhat overestimated. An analysis dating from 2011 set the annual threshold at 20,000 cubic meters. The management of a forest requires a very long-term vision, 100, even 150 years, the Municipality prefers to stick to 15,000, even 16,000 cubic meters, of which 70% for service wood and 30 % for wood energy.
Normally, the quantity extracted from the forests of Val-de-Ruz is barely enough to power the six district heating systems (CAD) in Vaudruz. These consume around 6,000 cubic meters per year. After two years of drought, the authorities decided to be cautious, to place less demand on these forests and to partially Source their wood energy from outside municipal borders.
The new CAD project in Geneveys-sur-Coffrane and the planned extension of Vivaldis to Cernier and Fontainemelon will not help the affairs of the Municipality.
For the moment, this situation has no impact on the finances of the municipality. In the forestry account, there is less money coming in, but there are also fewer expenses, explains the manager. As climate change does not take borders into account, the situation in Val-de-Ruz is not unique. Ultimately, the law of supply and demand could cause prices to rise and upset the fragile balance between revenue and expenditure.
At the end of the chain, the citizen who is heated thanks to the CAD should not see any difference, at least for the moment. The price of wood supplied by the Municipality, for example to Vivaldi, is fixed in advance and over the long term.
#Swiss
