This paper focuses on an examination of the government's strategy for encouraging the use of wood as a renewable fuel in Czech households. It examines the development of modern combustion technology and its impact on the environment. It describes the estimated requirement for wood by an average household and examines the overall availability of wood as a renewable fuel in the Czech Republic. The paper analyses in detail the policy instruments used by the Czech government to promote the use of this technology. It evaluates the impact of this policy on the users of the technology and practical achievements of the policy measures with respect to the overall objective that is the promotion of generation of renewable energy. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.