Coal Stove Insert

Demand for wood pellets grows

FRANKLIN — With an expanding global market, the future for local wood pellet producers is burning bright.

A growing demand for fuel pellets in markets in Europe, Asia and the potential for an expanding market in the U.S. has led to a need for more producers, which could benefit local economies for years to come due to the area’s extensive wood basket and access to major ports.

Largely because of this, manufacturers have announced plans to build wood pellet production facilities in several area localities, including Franklin, Waverly and Greensville County in Virginia and Ahoskie in North Carolina.

Peter O’Keefe, a partner in Franklin Pellets, which is looking into repurposing a portion of the shuttered International Paper mill, said production of pellets in the U.S. Southeast is on track to continue expanding.

From 2008-2010 total U.S wood pellet exports to Europe alone grew from 85,000 tons to more than 600,000 tons per year. He added that the region is positioned to deliver even more than that next year.

“It’s exploding,” he said.

The increase in exports to Europe can be attributed to the European Commission’s 20-20-20 rule, O’Keefe said. This refers to a new law mandating that by the year 2020 all power generation facilities cut emissions by 20 percent and that 20 percent of power generation has to come from renewable sources.

Pellets have a higher BTU content than other renewable sources, like waste wood, which makes them better to co-fire with coal, O’Keefe said. Co-firing with pellets also cuts down on costs due to infrastructure.

“The infrastructure for coal doesn’t have to be changed dramatically for pellets because they’re almost like ground-up coal,” O’Keefe said. “That’s why it is so attractive to use to co-fire with coal."

While Europe has burned about 11 million tonnes of pellets last year, estimates for future years are much higher because of its new mandate. Estimates are that 50 to 100 million tonnes of pellets per year will be needed to supply the European market in the coming years, said O'Keefe.

While the European market is increasingly not the only continent that sees a broader market for pellets. Asia has also become a major North American export of wood pellets.

Stan Elliot, products bear mountain forests in Portland, Oregon, said the Asian market is growing, but few U.S. manufacturers are exporting to that market.

Pellet Stove Insert: Magic Heat Reclaimer for Wood, Oil or Coal ...

When we moved into our current 100-year-old house almost 14 years ago, sitting on top of our gas furnace was a weird contraption that looked like it had more in connection with a steam train than a modern heating plant. I thought it was a relic from the original builders. Or that it had been installed by someone back in the '60s - the name Magic Heat is in a typeface from the Groovy days, long gone. But boy were we in for a treat! Our basement isn't heated - like most homes of its era, the furnace was "supposed" to keep the area warm. Maybe back in the days of shoveling coal into an inefficient boiler, it could do the trick. But nowadays, with more efficient and compact systems, a modern boiler loses less heat due to improved insulation. Hence, doing laundry or using the workroom in the winter might have meant needing a sweater on trips to the basement.

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