The author discusses potential exploitation of wood residue in woodworking industry as a secondary energy agency. In developed countries up to one hundred times more energy is used up today than at the beginning of man's development (some 8 MJ per day). Exploitation of fossil fuels as sources of energy has resulted in decreased reserves and increased adverse effects on the environment. Biomass undoubtedly takes a prominent place among renewable primary energy agencies. its production, just as the production of other energy products, requires that certain technological, ecological and other preconditions be met. Just as in any other forms of analysis, when we do the one far biomass, it is necessary to distinguish the technical and the theoretical potential of feasible quantities because of various limiting factors. In 1992 veneer log wood residue amounted to 37 544 m (48,4% from oak, 41 % from beech, 10,6% from ash), that is 26,3 x 10^6 kg. In the same year the potential amount of saw log residue with varying water content in wood equaled 481,849 m (283 x 10^6 kg), 23,8% of it being oak, 23,9% beech, 21,2% fir and spruce each). The remaining 31,1 % is covered by other softwoods and hardwoods. The overall residue in woodworking industry, from both saw and veneer logs, is 309,9 x 10^6 kg that is 0,1 Mtoe. In the later part of the work main difficulties in exploitation and ? preparation/treatment/processing ? of wood residue are analysed. The work continues to discuss storing and seasoning problems, and calorific value of wood. At the end of the work a wood residue exploitation unit is described.
