Energy plantations are an increasingly popular source of biomass, but new crops require new technology, like specially developed planting machines. So how exactly do they work? A first-time exhibitor at World Bioenergy in Jönköping, Sweden was Egedal Maskinfabrik from Denmark. Managing Director Niels Fogh explained how his energy planter works:
 “Most of the energy plantations in northern Europe are willow, with some poplar also being used in Germany. This machine can handle both types of plant. We use cuttings that are about 2.3 metres in length, which is a standard size. 
At that length they are a year old. We use a drum cutting system, which gives a bigger capacity. The operator sits on the machine and feeds the long cuttings into the cutter by hand. Then the cutter automatically cuts them into either 17 or 20 centimetre-long sticks. The sticks are then planted vertically in the plant furrow by a hydraulic planting device. The sticks grow roots in the moist ground without any other help. After three years you can take a first harvest, and then reharvest the same plants every second year, for at least twenty years or more.”
Egedal has sold its machines to the US, Hungary, Denmark and other European countries. The machine come in two versions, one that plants two rows simultaneously and one that plants four. The four-row machine can plant 2.5 hectares per hour.
Sweden has some 18,000 hectares of energy plantation. As a monoculture the plantations don’t look very animal friendly to the average passer-by. But Niels Fogh says that’s a false impression:
 “In Denmark we have both roe deer and pheasants that live in the energy plantations. The deer are especially fond of the willow plants because they are a source of food all year round.”