Potential from forestry waste for the contribution to the urban energy matrix

Nowadays, fossil fuels are the main source for energy supply in urban centers. Therefore, development of renewables from endogenous resources has become a strategy to reduce its consumption. Within that framework, this study case proposes a methodology to estimate the energy potential of urban forestry wastes in Cuenca-Ecuador city, which are obtained from maintenance activities at the public green areas, as an alternative energy source. It has been determined by laboratory analyses the average of the net calorific value of some biomass samples taken at the local area, and its result is about 0.38 tep/ton. From a statistical database, it has been calculated that forestry waste mass available per year in Cuenca city is 608.63 ton. Its energy potential is around 233.13 tep/year and the electrical generation efficiency is approximately 41 tep/year, corresponding to the average consumption of 110 local families. Finally, it is concluded that this energy source could rise significantly through the increase of maintenance activities of public green areas. Furthermore, it represents an alternative for the effective use of this kind of waste.