Demand from Europe boosts US wood pellet exports in 2013

May 23, 2014 - Exports of wood pellets from the US almost doubled to 3.2 million tonnes in 2013 from 1.6 million tonnes a year earlier, fuelled by rising demand in Europe, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Thursday.

Over 98% of the total amount was shipped to Europe. The five European countries that imported the most last year were the UK, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Italy. At the same time, most of the export volumes come from southeastern states due to their ample resources and low shipping costs to Europe.

The UK was the top importer of wood pellets, responsible for 59% of US’ total exports in 2013. The country more than tripled wood pellet imports from the US between 2012 and 2013 as plant operators took advantage of the Renewables Obligation scheme and either retrofitted existing facilities to use both biomass wood pellets and coal, known as co-firing, or switched to biomass entirely. The share for Belgium was 18%, followed by Denmark with 7%.

Wood pellets are mainly made from wood waste, such as sawdust, shavings and wood chips.

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