Over the next 5 years, it is estimated that the demand for wood pellets will increase 40 per cent to nearly 51 million metric tonnes per year. The growing demand is driven, in large part, by countries around the world that are striving to meet ambitious climate targets in the face of an ever-warming planet.
Verifying sustainability: Canada-Japan greenhouse gas study
It is the rigour of the movement behind the bioeconomy that prompted a Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) commissioned study (external link) examining the supply chain calculations of 17 Western Canadian wood pellet plants and two pellets plants from southeast U.S.
The results showed (external link) that wood pellets fired in Japan produced only 8.37 per cent of the GHG emissions produced by coal (more than a 91 per cent reduction). Another example shows wood pellets from the Southern U.S. State of Alabama, a much longer sea journey, still only produced 20.08 per cent of the emissions produced by coal (nearly an 80 per cent reduction).
The study demonstrates that regardless of the length of the journey when it comes to GHG emissions, bioenergy wins hands down. While wind and solar power remain important solutions to managing emissions; it is pellets that provide an immediate, reliable and sustainable form of energy that delivers much-needed stability to the electrical grid.
