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| Supply of wood pellets diminished |
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2006/1/17
PROVIDENCE -- Those high heating oil and natural gas prices have caused a run on another kind of energy source: wood pellets.
 The pellets are made from compressed sawdust gathered from various sources, such as furniture makers and sawmills, and are used in specialized stoves for heating. They've become more popular this winter largely because of high prices for traditional heating sources.
But the high demand for the pellets has caused a run on supply this winter -- and a spike in prices. Stores in New England reported running out of the materials.
"We regret that due to the surge in popularity of our fuels that we have not been able to keep up with demand in recent months," says a note on the Web site of New England Wood Pellet, a Jaffrey, N.H., company that makes wood pellets and supplies them to dealers. "We are moving aggressively to increase our manufacturing capacity."
"I was getting 50 calls a day for pellets in September and October, before the season really started," said Anthony Martini, a salesman at Ocean State Stove and Fuel in Warwick.
The shortage appears to be easing, The Providence Journal reported. But prices remain higher than usual. Martini said that 40-pound bags of pellets sold last year for $2 to $2.10 each.
This year, prices have risen to $5 to $6 a bag, he said.
The three-quarter-inch pellets, which resemble rabbit food, are more efficient than standard cut and split hardwood because they don't contain the bark, which produces more ash.
More ash means incomplete combustion, said Norwood "Woody" Keeney, New England Wood Pellet's operations manager.
The sawdust is put in a machine that compresses it to 60,000 pounds per square inch. It is extruded and cut to length, Keeney said. No other materials are added to the sawdust, he said.
Trees are not cut down specifically for making wood pellets. It all comes from waste wood or from trees removed because of forest management, Keeney said.
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| Source:http://www.southcoasttoday.com |
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