Wood Pellets

What Are Wood Pellets?

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 1 cm long pellet with diameter of 6 mm.  The pellets are bagged for residential use or trucked bulk for larger scale consumers.

The wood pellet market in New Zealand is still new but has been taken up by many consumers.  The manufacturing capacity is above 100,000 tonnes per year on 4 wood pellet plants, increasing in the next few months to 150,000 tonnes with the opening of a new plant in Rotorua.  The present consumption of pellets is significantly lower – about 20,000 tonnes in 2006.  The wood pellets are predominantly used for residential heating, although there are a few heating systems in institutions and the industry on wood pellets.  Notably, four schools have converted from coal to wood pellets.

Wood pellets are seen as the principal means for institutions and the residential and commercial sectors to use biomass for heat.  They are offered as a standardised, easily handled fuel through supply chains.  The alternative of utilizing hog fuel or chip directly by these users is not expected, mainly due to the inconvenience of these systems compared to wood pellets.

Publications and Articles on Wood Pellets

Information on wood pellets is available from the following sources;

Wood Pellets Information, heater and boiler suppliers and sources of pellet fuel

The most upto date information on wood pellets, heater and boiler suppliers and pellets suppliers is on the website. Click here to access Wood Pellets website.

Wood Pellets Interest Group

The Bioenergy Association has established a Wood Pellets Interest Group for discussion and shared activities. Membership of the Interest Group is by way of membership of BANZ. If you are a member then use your password to access the member's only area to participate in this group.