Are Trees Been Cut Down To Make Wood Pellets?

There have been reports and concerns that whole trees are now been harvested specifically for the production of wood pellets fuels.

Much of this new increased demand has been produced through European coal power stations, who are now co-combusting wood pellets and coal to lower their rated carbon emissions. Previously the wood pellet market was just a result of using waste resources from the timber industry. It was seen as a very positive new industry, using a previously unused waste stream to create energy. It was also seen as a positive industry to timber producers as they used to have to pay to have the sawdust trucked away. Therefore as this saved the timber company on costs, they used to let the wood pellet companies have the sawdust for free, as long as they paid for the transportation. This arrangement worked well for both. However as the wood pellet market grew, the demand for sawdust grew. This meant the timber producers now started to charge for the sawdust, and this has now led to concerns that some wood pellet manufactures are now going straight to the source as a cheaper option. This completely changes the dynamic of the market, going from a waste processor to directly contributing to deforestation. The issue also comes down to this obsession with a minimal ash content, which can only be achieve through using wood such as pine, ash and oak. There are fast growing biomass crops such as hemp which have a low ash content, just not quite as low as current premium wood pellet grades. The industry has pinned its self into a corner with the consumer, as they do not want to state that ash contents would be higher. There is also the issue of the stoves consumers have purchased. Please click below to see our videos on making wood pellets.