This page provides information on what's happening in the wood pellet sector in New Zealand. More extensive information is available to BANZ members including discussion forums.

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Wood pellets are a densified wood fuel typically made of shavings and/or sawdust.  If the sawdust or shavings are wet they will have to go through a drying process to achieve a final moisture content of 10% after processing.  The sawdust or shavings are processed through an extruder to develop a uniform 1cm long pellet with diameter of 6mm.  The pellets are bagged for residential use or trucked bulk for larger scale consumers.

Who is using Wood Pellets in New Zealand?

New Zealand has a growing residential pellet market with a wide range of pellet fires now available to the householder. Equally pellets are also of interest in the commercial / industry sector identified as a high quality wood fuel. New Zealand producers also export to European markets. This group works cooperatively to promote the wider benefits of pellets as a high quality, clean, green heating solution in particular to ensure the production and availability of pellet fuel across the sector.

Producing Wood Pellets in New Zealand

The wood pellet market in New Zealand is expanding and has been taken up by many consumers. The current manufacturing capacity is around 52,000 tonnes per year from 2 large-scale wood pellet plants (smaller production also exists),. In March 2010, leading pellet producer Natures Flame open a state of the art plan in Taupo. The present consumption of pellets in New Zealand is lower than production capacity - it was about 20,000 tonnes in 2006 and is estimated at around in 2012. The wood pellets are predominantly used for an increasing number of institutions (mostly conversions from coal). Other commercial scale users include prisons, hospitals, swimming pools, ret homes, etc. Most recently in late 2011 the Waioru Army base was converted to run on wood pellets. Residential pellet use in New Zealand is a relatively small section of the market. Production capacity in New Zealand is such that producers have been able to secure significant export contracts sending pellets to the Europe, Asia and Australia markets.

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The dedicated BANZ Wood Pellets web site offers information on wood pellets from both national and international articles. Go to the BANZ UseWoodFuelNZ web site or the dedicated Wood Pellets web site to view more information.

BANZ Technical Guides

The sale, purchase and use of wood fuels has highlighted the need for the seller and the purchaser of wood fuel to be confident with respect to the description and quality of the wood fuel sought or supplied. Further, the user needs to have confidence in not only the fuel but the technology on offer, its functionality, its safety and issues such as maintenance.

BANZ has developed the following Technical Guides to ensure users of wood fuel can secure top quality fuel, equipment and advice.

• Technical Guide 01 - Wood Fuel Classification Guidelines
• BANZ Technical Guide 02 - Guidelines for the Conversion of Solid Fuel Boilers from Coal to Wood Pellet Firing
• BANZ Technical Guide 03 - Guidance document for Wood Pellet Boiler Operators
• Technical Guide 04 - Tender Guidelines for Wood Energy Plant

Key Wood Pellet Topics and Issues in New Zealand

• Wood Pellet Production in New Zealand
• Supply of Wood Pellet Boilers and Heaters in New Zealand
• Conversion of Coal Boilers to run on Wood Pellets
• Sources of Pellets for Fuel

For more information on these topics see the UseWoodFuelNZ web site or the dedicated Wood Pellets web site.

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