AUSTRALIA — Sustainably managed forests and sawmills on the north coast could power more than 200,000 local homes per year, new research suggests. The news forms part of a recent report by the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI), which found more than one million tonnes of forestry residues – small trees, branches, tops and unsellable wood – from harvesting operations could be used for bioenergy, with no adverse environmental impacts. DPI research scientist Fabiano Ximenes, who is presenting findings at the Bioenergy2017 conference in Sydney on November 22, said the two-and-a-half-year project analysed the production forests surrounding regional hubs Grafton, Kempsey and Bulahdelah.