Wood is a great material for many things, ranging from construction material to heat premises. In France, the market is soaring, and this for several reasons.
The first thing that is needed to know is that the French forest is growing, approximately 70.000 hectares per annum. The total land covered by forests in France are 15 million hectares.
It is estimated that the forests have the same size as in the Middle Ages.
Wood is fashionable nowadays in construction because it is a noble and sustainable material. It also has a good insulation quality as it is estimated that it insulates 12 times better than concrete ( source : Comité National pour le Développement du Bois, CNDB, web ). Still according to the same source, it is also great to reduce the time needed to build a house.
Thanks to all these factors, the wooden constructions are increasing. It is estimated that the constructions in France with this material are increasing by 46 percent since 2006 when the overall construction sector is increasing by 18 percent ( for individual house, source Le Figaro, web ) However, wood is more expansive that other material for construction, but this is countered by the gain on insulation.
Wood as a heating material is also witnessing an increasing demand because of the oil prices and climate change concerns in the country. The other explaining fact can be the financial helps from the French government, via the ADEME (Agence de l’Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l’Energie, or Agency for environment and energy conservation, web)
If wood is still managed in a sustainable way as it is, it is indeed great news for the future of sustainable development and energy in France.