Most importantly, the country has used its rich forest resources to generate about 80 per cent of its bioenergy needs. The Finnish forest industry has invested heavily in bioenergy and energy efficiency, and these measures have helped to keep carbon monoxide emissions at target levels even though paper production in Finland has increased by more than 40 per cent since 1990.

Stefan Sunman, energy director of the Finnish Forest Industries' Federation, said that about one fifth of Finland's energy was generated from wood - five times higher than the European Union average. The forest industry is the country's largest producer of wood energy and bioenergy, accounting for about 80 per cent of biotechnology production and consumption in the country.

Forest residues are the most rapidly growing form of wood energy and account for about 3 per cent of total wood energy consumed in Finland. In 2004, 2.7 million cubic metres of forest residues were used to generate energy, an increase of more than 25 per cent over the previous year. The country's national forest programme aims to produce 5 million cubic metres of forest residues per year by 2010.

Finland's need to promote the use of biofuel has never been more critical.

Crude oil production in Europe is declining and consumption of motor vehicle fuels is increasing. The increased use of biofuels will reduce demand for conventional fuels as well as help keep fuel prices affordable, said Risto Nasi, executive vice president of Neste Oil, a private oil company listed on the Helsinki stock exchange.

He said that in the 1960s and 1970s, there was a big gap between refining capacity and petroleum demand. Now, even though demand for petroleum is still increasing, the gap between supply and demand has narrowed.

However, global refining capacity is unlikely to increase soon because the huge investment needed has not yet materialised. This is despite the fact there's an imbalance in global demand. Europe needs more diesel and the US needs more petrol, he said.

Nevertheless, Neste Oil believes that in the next 20 years, biofuel will have a significant market share and will be used mostly in petrol and diesel engines, Nasi said. It will be unable to completely substitute for petrol and diesel because of inadequate plantation areas to supply raw materials for biofuel production, so it will be blended with petroleum products to save on oil imports.

Neste Oil is constructing a new biodiesel plant, worth €100 million (Bt4.76 billion), which is due to start production next year. It will use renewable raw materials such as vegetable oil, waste cooking oil and animal fat.

Tests have already shown that the biodiesel product is of good quality, with low engine emissions, Nasi said.

However, the plant will have to import raw materials from the Far East, such as palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia, because of an inadequate home-grown supply of rapeseed and other crops that can be used as raw material for biofuel production.

He said there could be obstacles to acquiring palm oil from the Far East because of a growing debate about massive oil palm plantations replacing natural rain forests. "We have to listen to that debate," he said.

Vuosaari B power plant, about a half-an-hour's drive from central Helsinki, uses natural gas as its main fuel to produce clean electrical energy. It is owned by Helsinki Energy, which in turn is owned by the City of Helsinki to supply its electricity. Natural gas is regarded as an appropriate fuel because it does not contain sulphur and dust and, as a result, does not emit particles or sulphur dioxide.

Veikko Hokkanen, Helsinki's energy director, said that of all its power plants, the city depends most heavily on the Vuosaari B plant. It has no chimney stacks or smoke and generates electricity with steam and gas turbines.

Excess steam is condensed by seawater. The plant has a staff of 70 and many of its systems are computer-controlled.

Jeerawat Na Thalang

The Nation

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