Wood Pellets - Demand for wood pellets in Europe a boon for southeast ( and northeast) U.S. - by Wayne Faulkner

Wood Pellets

The Port of Wilmington in North Carolina may reap the benefits of environmental regulations in Europe that have spurred a huge increase in demand for forest byproducts from the southeastern United States.

Wood pellets, often used in wood-burning stoves, are taking the place of coal in many European power plants with the aim of reducing their carbon footprint.

“Without a doubt the demand for this product is being driven by clean energy requirements in the U.K. and Europe, and the Atlantic Seaboard is economically advantaged in supplying the pellets,” said Jeff Miles, acting executive director of the N.C. State Ports Authority.

European demand will continue growing for many reasons, from business to policies and regulations, said Daniel Saloni of the Department of Forest Biomaterials at N.C. State University.

Note EU-Digest: A subsidiary of Cate Street Capital released a statement recently confirming that it has plans to construct a multimillion-dollar wood pellet plant near the Port of Eastport marine cargo terminal. Thermogen Industries indicated in the release that it signed a letter of intent with the port authority’s board on Feb. 19. The plan calls for construction of a $120 million plant that can produce between 200,000 and 300,000 tons of torrefied wood pellets each year. 

Depending on the size and capacity of the plant, the facility could create approximately 75 jobs in Eastport and more than 300 additional forestry-related jobs in the Maine woods, the company indicated.

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