The high cost of energy and the need for an environmentally sound and renewable source of fuel has led to the studv of utilising alternative sources of energy One of these alternative sources of energv is the branches and needles left behind after commercial forest harvesting. This post harvest residue is internationally known as slash Slash can be chipped and used directly m industry or it can be densified into briquettes and burnt as a domestic fuel. Once the particle size o f slash chips has been reduced to less than 3mm and its moisture content brought down to less than 10% it is possible to produce a well structured briquette which has a calorific value o f 4 380 Cal/g. If a factory was established to manufacture these slash briquettes the most suitable location for the enterprise would be at Avonmore, Co Wicklow. The surrounding forests would be capable o f supplying a sustained yield of approximately 77,232 m^/annum while proximity to the large Dublin market would help reduce haulage costs. If indeed this factory was located in Avonmore and designed to produce 800 000 units of briquettes (10kg per unit), the retail value of each unit sold would have to be £1 81 in order to breakeven. This high figure can be partially attributed to the high cost of harvesting slash, £6 35/green tonne, and the cost of haulage £102 419/annum Market research has however shown that there is a potential market for a clean burning, convenient environmentally friendly fuel. The harmful impact on the forest site after the removal of slash, in terms of soil acidity and nutrient depletion means that onlv the most fertile sites can be harvested for slash. This limiting factor coupled with the high cost of manufacturing this type of briquette probably prevents this new product from becoming a commercialK viable enterprise m the short term.