Wood pellets are made from dried and densified sawdust, shavings or wood powder. Pelletisation is currently the most economic and energy saving way to convert biomass into a fuel with high energy density and consistent quality. For this reason it is one of the fastest growing forms of upgraded biomass in Europe and worldwide. Between 2014 and 2015, pellet consumption for heating increased by 4,2%, despite mild winters and low oil prices. Pellets can be used both for heating and power production.
In the EU-28, 20,2 million tonnes of wood pellets were consumed in 2015. The majority of the consumption was for heat production which represented 63,9%. Pellet consumption for heat can be further divided into three markets – residential heating (42,2%), commercial heating (15,7%) and heat generated from CHP (6%). Power generation represents the remaining 36,1%, shared between CHP power (3%) and power only plants (33,1%).
If you want to learn more about wood pellets, you can consult the following sections:
