WPAC sees improved demand for Canadian wood pellets for years to come

Rubber and Wood  |  2013-03-23 13:56:45   |   By

The Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) predicts the demand for Canadian wood pellets to surge in the years to come.

VANCOUVER (Scrap Monster) : The Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) predicts the demand for Canadian wood pellets to surge in the years to come.

As per surveys, the European Wood Pellet demand may shoot up by 300% towards the end of 2020. Although, US has gone past Canada as the largest exporter of wood pellets to Europe, WPAC sees bright chances of Canada soon retaining the top spot.

According to Gordon Murray, WPAC Executive Director, the wood pellet consumption will continue to rise in Europe. Europe’s current wood pellet consumption is 12 million tonnes annually.

Murray emphasized on the need to improve the production rate of wood pellets. Citing Italy as an example, he said Italy produces 550,000 tonnes of pellets from just nine million hectares of forest – a rate of 61 tonnes per 1,000 hectares.Comparing it with Canadian production rate, Canada produces 1.5 million tonnes from 397 million hectares, a rate of just four tonnes per 1,000 hectares. If Canada could reach the same production rate, it would produce 23 million tonnes of pellets per year.”

“There is a huge capacity for more pellet production in Canada” Murray says. “Pellets in Canada are produced 100 per cent from waste material,” and “when you look at the number of pellet plants in Canada, we’re using just a small fraction of the amount of material being wasted.”

With lumber prices rising and a recovery in the solid wood sector, Murray sees boundless opportunities for a booming pellet sector in Canada.

Many coal power plants in Europe have switched from coal to wood pellets. The conversion from coal to wood pellets by the UK plants will further boost the demand for Canadian wood pellets.