Home Heating Wood Pellets: Top Reasons To Consider This Low-Carbon Renewable Fuel

RENEWABLE ACROSS THE BOARD

8.8 million tons of wood product residue was purchased by pellet producers from upstream forest product manufacturing sites in 2020.

Wood pellet production is the use of wood residues generated by the manufacturing of other higher value forest products such as saw logs, dimensional lumber and trees felled in forestry operations that are not marketable as saw logs.

The waste materials from this upstream manufacturing process are converted into a heating product by wood pellet manufacturers. 

LOW CARBON OPTION

Wood pellets displace the demand and use of fossil-based fuels with higher carbon intensity (i.e., wood pellets deliver at least a 65% reduction in carbon intensity).

Wood pellets offer consumers a low-carbon home heating technology.  As an alternative to the home heating fuel landscape, wood pellets are a cost-competitive, low-carbon and renewable option. They interrupt the cycle of rising carbon dioxide levels caused by other fossil-based fuel vehicles and heating by recycling the carbon dioxide emitted during combustion in the regeneration of forests grown to meet the demand from the forest products industry on which it relies for fiber.

CONTRIBUTION TO LOCAL ECONOMY

$500 million of wood pellet sales for residential heating were generated often by independently owned small business owners.

Wood pellet manufacturing generates economic activity in rural places.  It creates wage paying jobs at the facilities, and generates other jobs such as trucking, logging, and maintenance.

Further, the lifecycle of a wood pellet, both in manufacturing and use, are highly localized. While wood pellets are available across the country, the sale of wood pellets largely occurs within the same region as the manufacturing of the product. This recirculation creates economic opportunity for local manufacturers and retailers a like.   

To learn more about the wood pellet industry, you can access the Pellet Fuel Institute's digital booklet, "Sustainable from the Beginning: 3 Facts About Pellet Manufacturing and Use” here.