The wood pellet industry in South Carolina is starting to pick up steam with one plant ramping up production and another about to be built. When both facilities are operating, South Carolina will have the capacity to produce about 700,000 tons of pellets annually.
Still, South Carolina is “a relatively small player in the export market,” said Hakan Ekstrom, of Wood Resources International, headquartered in Bothell, Wash.
There’s potential for growth in the manufacturing of wood pellets as some countries in Europe are searching for ways to trim carbon emissions in fueling base-load power generation. Also, countries like Germany plan to shut down commercial reactor units in the wake of safety issues raised by the nuclear accidents at Fukushima.
To meet the rising demand wood pellet manufacturing has expanded in the South, helping make the United States the largest exporter in the world.
With continued investments throughout the southern United States, export volumes are forecast to reach 5.7 million tons in 2015, up from 1.5 tons expected to be produced this year, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review, a publication of Wood Resources International.
From GSA Business: https://www.gsabusiness.com/news/46182-demand-for-wood-pellets-could-fuel-s-c-manufacturing?rss=0