Hardwood Pellets

WDPellet.com Staff and Contributors - Editorial 07-08-08

The wood pellet industry is being overlooked as a viable alternative source to fossil fuels for heating homes, commercial buildings and for cogeneration. Although the industry is not glamorous and politically expedient, it is real and provides a solution for those who are being priced out of the fossil fuel markets for heating oil. The Europeans are well ahead of the United States with respect to the deployment of this unique fuel source - and - they are getting a lot of this fuel from North America while we continue to be held hostage by fossil fuels.

There are 80 plants in North America and 300 in Europe with many more being developed in many emerging countries. The wood pellet industry produced 2,300,000 tons of product that saved 6,440,000 barrels of oil last year in North America and three times that worldwide. Plainly stated, wood pellets work.

Wood pellet technology is proven. The technology will only continue to improve from manufacturing of the fuel itself to the manufacturing of appliances that use it. The United States has ample raw materials from recycling and growing the forests of North America that will continue to be better managed and renewed year after year. Nature gives us a source of raw material that can and will outlast all of the oil in the world. The wood pellet industry also provides an outlet for recycled and waste wood products that have been a disposal problem.

The industry needs attention and prudent investment to grow and build out the infrastructure, and it needs advocates that can help it grow and develop into a key segment of the full comprehensive solution to fossil fuels. It is but one part of an integrated, long-term solution that is here to stay. With consumer education, media attention and the commitment of financial resources, the industry could double or triple in size in the next couple of years creating an economic boom in the local and regional markets that manufacture and consume the products. The industry is not a panacea solution to the many complex issues that exist. There are and will be set backs as the industry transforms from a cottage industry started in the 70’s to a major industry in the fight to develop alternative solutions to energy problems.

One could also make the argument that wood pellets are part of a national security solution to protect the United States. Oil is a finite source that will in fact run out at some point in the future. Supply in the mean time will always be in danger of being interrupted for political reasons. Wood pellets can have a huge impact on reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and keeping hundreds of millions, and eventually billions, of dollars in the local economies where the pellets are manufactured and consumed.

Whether the wood pellet industry gets a proper look from the media, commercial consumers, politicians and financial markets it is growing into a multi-billion dollar industry that is being built by doers as opposed to hopefuls or want-to-be solutions. The wood pellet industry does not get the coverage that other bio-mass product options do. It is truly the unwanted stepchild of the alternative energy industry, yet it is as viable or more so. There is no doubt that wood pellets can play a large part in addressing one aspect of the energy crisis and have a significant impact today - and years and decades in the future.

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