US Ambassador: Huge opportunities in the Arctic for Finnish and Russian bioenergy

The US Ambassador to Finland sees huge opportunities for developing renewable energy from forestry resources in the Arctic for Finland and Russia.

Ambassador Charles Adams Jr. sees the large forestry sectors of the Finnish Lapland and Russian Kola Peninsula as an increasingly attractive opportunity not only for the two countries’, but also the EU’s bioenergy industry.

"Renewable energy, biofuels, forestry byproducts — that is going to be a huge new vector for the Finnish economy, also, by the way, for the Russian economy," Adams told Sputnik News.

In addition to economic opportunities, bioenergy can provide Arctic communities with an alternative, non-fossil source of energy.

"I’m not talking about the next generation, it is happening as we speak," Adams said.

Finland is a world leader in bioenergy production with its forest industry contributing to 70% of the county’s renewable energy, according to the Finnish Foreign Ministry.

Renewable energy accounts for approximately 5% of Russian energy production, according to estimates by the US Department of Agriculture.

Energy production potential from wood waste in Russia’s logging sector is estimated at 8 billion tonnes of oil equivalent.