Pellets for small-scale domestic
heating systems
May 2007
About pellets…………….....… 3
Pellet production…….....…… 4
Pellet distribution………….....6
Pellet burning
technology……………………....7
Legislation and support
schemes……………...…......…9
Pellet market.....……………..13
Page 2
www.aebiom.org
RESMAC project
Supported by
source: KWB
source: KWB
P
ellets are an important renewable energy source that
benefits the environment, provides jobs to local and natio-
nal economies and is easily manageable in small-scale
domestic systems. Domestic households cover about 27% of
total energy consumption. The heat market related to domestic
households can be best addressed by using pellets as this fuel
is as convenient to use as fossil fuels. This section will give an
overview on pellet structure, its advantages for domestic hea-
ting systems, as well as the pellet chain starting with raw mate-
rial for pellet production to the pellet delivery to small houses as
well as available technology to utilise pellets for home heating.
Pellet structure
Pellets are a fuel in
the form of short
cylindrical or sphe-
rical units. It is
usually 6-12 mm in
diameter and 10-
30 mm in length,
with a moisture
content of less
than 10%.
Pellets are generally produced from residues of wood proces-
sing industries and mainly used for heating and electricity pro-
duction purposes. Pellets are especially suitable in small heating
systems due to their automatic heating process, easy storage
as they do not degrade, relatively low cost comparing with fos-
sil fuels and a very low amount of ash and other emissions relea-
sed.
Pellets heating technology is comparatively new, and was deve-
lopped from wood chip boiler technology. At present, over 60
manufactures of pellet boilers are active in the market in the
European Union, and the boiler technology is constantly being
improved to reach a higher efficiency rate.
From the three most commonly used types of wood (logs, wood
chips and wood pellets), pellets offer major advantages for small
heating systems and together with wood chips (which, contrary
to pellets, are best suited for a large-scale use) are a best alter-
native to fossil fuels in the future.
Pellet advantages
This type of bioenergy is efficient, clean and reliable. In compa-
rison with other solid biofuels, pellets provide the following
advantages and disadvantages:
Page 3
source: REH
About pellets
General advantages
Pellet advantages for domestic use
Disadvantages
Reduces EU dependence on oil and
gas
More convenient to store than any other type of wood
as it doesn’t degrade due to low moisture content (less than
10%).
Peletizing process requires
a certain amount of energy
input and results in a higher
price comparing to wood
logs, briquettes or other
forms of wood.
Sustainable source of fuel: Wood
pellets are a clean, environmentally
friendly, natural, renewable fuel
resource
High energetic value and, therefore, cost effective product:
one ton of wood pellets has the heat value of more than one
and a half tons of wood and stacks easily in one third the
space. This makes it possible to easily store fuel for the entire
season.
Pellet fuel cost is not dictated by
world events; therefore cost is more
affordable and predictable
Requires less maintenance: heating process is automatic.
Only minimal clearance (mainly removal of ash) is needed for
appliance installation (due to the near total combustion
(around 98.5%) pellet stoves produce virtually no creosote.
This also allows installation of a pellet stove by direct vent
without a chimney.
In comparison with oil, there
is a need for a larger storage
facilities, regular control and
removal of ashes.
Reduces waste (as it is made from
by-products of wood processing
industry) and, therefore, diminish
the cost of disposing waste.
Provides employment opportunities
as it is a native fuel
Cost-efficient: high energy efficiency (due to a low moisture
content) which results in a reduced cost.
Less ash and emissions - since pel-
let stove emissions are so low they
can be burned in most areas even
those with burning restrictions
Easier to handle - easiest fuel to transport and feed into bur-
ners – pellets are blown with a special pump from a truck to
the storage room and are used in automatic machinery.
Compared to wood or other types of wood, less volume to
transport and store (due to higher energy density)
Easier to ignite due to a consistent size and low moisture
content
Air quality - clean, CO2-neutral pellet fuel enhances the air
quality by substituting wood log burners and in this way redu-
cing fine dust emissions. Pellets have been proven to provide
the cleanest combustion of any solid fuel
Standard technical characteristics and low moisture content –
burns predictably and provide a consistent heat output.
Further, they have around 10% moisture content, considerably
less than the 25 to 55% typical of chips, so that less energy is
wasted boiling off water.
P
ellets are generally manufactured from sawdust – a by-
product of sawmilling, shavings, grinding dust, bark and
finely reduced wood waste, some of which comes from
further processing of wood chips. The demand for pellets is
increasing and other biomass wastes will be considered as raw
materials. Therefore, logging residues, energy crops and its resi-
dues (ex. straw), agricultural waste, and other organic fractions
of household waste could be used for pellet production.
However, these new fuels might release a higher amount of
emissions due to incomplete combustion so their use must be
studied carefully before introduction to the residential market.
Furthermore, longer production process for pelletising alterna-
tive raw materials such as forest wood or forest residues where
the material has to be chipped with a mobile chipper, then grin-
ded and sifted before it is dried and pelletised, results in higher
investment costs and a higher price of pellets. Agropellets give
problems when burned and therefore will be of interest later on.
In general, wood pellets can be produced from 4 main types of
biomass: woody biomass, herbaceous biomass, fruit biomass
and peat
1
.
Example of pellets produced from agricultural waste
Pellet production chain
By products from wood processing industries (sawdust, sha-
vings and grindings) go through three main stages of pellet pro-
duction: storing and pretreatment of raw materials, drying the
raw material and actual pellet production process. The overall
process is pictured bellow:
Drying raw material
The waste from wood processing industries is mostly dried
using the basic direct drying technique which is a simple and
well functioning high capacity technique. This technique, howe-
ver, is not that good from environmental point of view and pre-
sents a slightly greater fire hazard. The trend nowadays is to use
indirect drying techniques where the material doesn’t have
direct contact with higher temperatures as well as flue gasses.
Simple drying technique requires 0.8 MWh of heat to dry a tone
of pellets to moisture content of 8-10% whereas indirect ones
can significantly reduce the energy needed for the drying pro-
cess. The energy is saved using a pre-dryer and a condenser
which condenses the moist gases from the dryer directly. This
drying process is more energy efficient but requires higher
investment costs.
Pelletising process
Pellets cost more to produce than other wood-based fuels and
require a high capital investment in plant and machinery. Pellet
production generally requires a supply of dry sawdust of a
consistent moisture content and a uniform particle size.
Therefore, it is more energy efficient to use by-products from
wood processing industry rather than to grind up and dry freshly
felled timber.
The pelletising process starts with dried sawdust being forced
or pressed through holes in a rotating die. The pressure causes
the wood to heat up, briefly liquefying the lignins which act as a
glue and bind the pellets together. The extruded pellets are cut
to length as they emerge from the die. The newly pressed pel-
lets pass through a cooler to allow the lignin to harden. Refined
wood fuels can be stored without risk of moulding or self-igni-
tion. The energy content does not change during storage. The
storage time is unlimited, but the refined fuel must be protected
against rain.
Pellet production
source: KAHL
source: VTT
1 Although peat is not considered as biomass by the European Commission.
source: CIMAJ
Page 4
In order to make a pellet plant eco-
nomically viable, most pellets are
produced in the large-scale indus-
trial pellet manufacture with integra-
ted large sawmill and/or heat user. If
there is a supply of sawdust that is
already dry, small-scale pellet
machines are capable to produce
pellets with an output of around
200-300 kg per hour. It is also
sometimes possible to convert an
existing animal grass-feed mill to
produce wood pellets, as the equip-
ment needed is similar and many
feed factories have facilities to dry
the feedstock. Such arrangement
could bring economic benefits to
the feed mill enabling the produc-
tion to continue throughout the year
especially during the winter when
the grass is not growing. The pro-
duction of pellets with feed mills is
considerably lower than with a
dedicated pellet plant but doesn’t
require high capital cost.
The tendency nowadays is to pro-
duce pellets in an efficient way in
the combined pellet plants that
simultaneously produces pellets,
electricity and heat. These plants,
however, require a higher invest-
ment cost and more attention has
to be paid to the plant management
as all the parts of the plant are inter-
connected.
Page 5
Pellet drying process used in Vansbro
pellet/cogeneration plant, Sweden
source: Bioenergy International No 22 (November 2006)
source: KAHL
Pellet distribution
A
fter pellets are produced, they can be delivered in 3
ways to the small heating systems. Pellets can be
packed either into 15 or 20 kg bags and distributed to
the special shops where the customers can buy it at any time,
packed into economy size bags of 500-1000 kg or transpor-
ted loose by trucks and blown into the storage room by a spe-
cial pump.
Pellet delivering with a special pumping truck - Renewable Energy House, Brussels
Pellet production and distribution
Page 6
source : ITEBE
source : VTT
I
n the small heating systems, houses can mainly be heated
either by pellet stoves or pellet boilers.
Pellet stoves are more efficient, cleaner burning, and easier to
use than conventional wood burning appliances. Pellet stoves
are usually placed in the living area and have an esthetic value
whereas pellet boilers in the non-living area of the house.
Usually, the efficiency of the pellet stoves and boilers reaches
90%.
Pellet stove - source : AEBIOM
Pellet boiler - source : AEBIOM
Pellet burning technology
Source: Austrian Energy Agency/BLT
Page 7
Efficiency of wood boilers for domestic use
New technology - pellet condensing boiler
The principle is the same as a gas condensing boiler. The com-
bustion gases comprise energy which is recovered in the form
of steam. The vapour existing in those gases is condensed and
allows to recover energy, usually 10-15% of the lower calorific
value. The temperature of the smoke varies between 130°C –
145 °C in the standard pellet boiler without a condensing sys-
tem and is around 70 °C in a boiler with a condensing system.
The efficiency of such a boiler can reach more than 100%.
Pellet standards
The European Committee of Standardisation (CEN) has
prepared 30 technical specifications on solid biofuels. The
standards can be used as tools to enable both efficient tra-
ding of biofuels and good understanding between seller
and buyer, as well as in communication with equipment
manufacturers.
The following specifications have been published and avai-
lable from national standardisation institutions: Terminology
– CEN/TS 14588; Fuel specification and classes –
CEN/TS 1461; Calorific value – CEN/TS 14918; Moisture
content – 3 different (CEN/TS14774-1, 14774-2 and 14774-
3); Ash content – CEN/TS 14775.
These technical specifications are pre-standards, which are
in force for 3 years after publishing. At the moment, they do
not invalidate national standards. After the three year
period it will be decided whether these technical specifica-
tions will be updated to European Norms. The upgrading
work has started in autumn 2006 and will be carried out
until 2010. In the meantime, there are various possibilities
(via international biomass conferences, articles etc.) for
standard users to give their comments and further improve
the European standards.
CEN committee prepared the specifications of properties
for Pellets that can be found on the following website:
www.eubionet.net.
The example for high quality wood pellets recommended
for household usage is as follows:
Source: Okofen
Source: Kahl
Pellet boiler with integrated flue gas condensation
(efficiency 103%, nominal capacities 8, 10, 15 and 20 kW)
Origin
Chemically untreated tree without bark
Moisture content
M10 (Moisture < 10 w-%)
Mechanical dura-
bility
DU97.5 (97.5 w-% of pellet batch of 100g
shall be uncrushed after testing)
Percentage of
fines
F1.0 or F2.0 (percentage of fines among
pellets sieved through < 3.15 mm sieve
shall not exceed 1 or 2 w-% at factory
gate)
Dimensions
D06 or D08 (pellet diameter 6mm±0.5mm
and length < 5x diameter or diameter
8±0.5mm, and length < 4x diameter).
Maximum 20 w-% of the pellets may have
a length of 7.5 x Diameter.
Ash content
A0.7 (<0.7 w-% of dry matter)
Sulphur content
S0.05(<0.05 w-% of dry matter)
Additives
<2 w-% of dry matter may consist of bio-
based chemically untreated material, the
type and amount to be given.
Net calorific value
E4.7 [kWh/kg] (net calorific value > 4.7
kWh/kg=16.9 MJ/kg)
Source : VTT
Page 8
European legislation affecting the heating
sector from renewable energy
EU existing legislation that already promotes renewable energy
heating includes Directive 2002/91/EC on the energy perfor-
mance of buildings (OJ L1/65, 4.1.2003), which for example,
imposes a requirement on Member States to take necessary
measures in order to ensure that new buildings meet the mini-
mum energy performance requirements. Member states have to
ensure the technical, environmental and economical feasibility
for new buildings to use renewable energy, CHP and, if availa-
ble, district or block heating and cooling.
Another directive 2004/8/EC on the promotion of cogeneration
(OJ L52/50, 21.2.2004) also indirectly promotes RES-H as it
obliges member states to establish an analysis of the national
potential for the application of high-efficiency cogeneration,
including high-efficiency micro-cogeneration. These analyses of
national potentials have to consider the type of fuels that are
likely to be used to realise the cogeneration potentials, including
specific considerations on the potential for increasing the use of
renewable energy sources in the national heat markets via coge-
neration.
The European Commission has published the EU Biomass
Action Plan (COM(2005) 628 final) in 2005 which is directly rele-
vant to RES heating and cooling and lists a number of measu-
res to be taken by the European Commission from 2006
onwards, including the preparation of a proposal for Community
legislation in 2006 to encourage the use of renewable energy,
including biomass, for heating and cooling. The legislative pro-
posal, however, wasn’t published in 2006 but will be included in
the overall renewables directive which will be proposed by the
Commission in the second half of 2007.
The European Commission has presented its energy package
on 10 January 2007. The package covers various energy areas
including a proposal for a long term Renewable Energy
Roadmap. The roadmap includes two main targets: to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by 2O% by 2020 and an overall bin-
ding 20% renewable energy target with a minimum 10% target
for transport biofuels for the EU by 2020. Even though the rene-
wables roadmap didn’t set up a target for heat, the production
of heat will be necessary to reach the overall renewables target
of 20% by 2020. According to European Biomass Association
calculations, it is possible to propose a 25% renewable heat tar-
get for Europe, with a contribution of biomass for heat up to 120
millions toe by 2020.
National policy
Contrary to fossil fuels, the market of which largely depends on
geopolitical conditions, the pellet demand/supply depends
mostly on national framework conditions. In most cases biofuels
are cheaper than fossil fuels but it can become more expensive
if the country decides, for example, to apply a reduced VAT rate
on electricity and natural gas instead of supporting bioenergy. At
a national level two important instruments to promote or slow
down the use of biomass for heat can be distinguished: regula-
tions and financial incentives. Regulations such as “Federal
Building Code and Federal land Utilisation Ordinance” in
Germany or “Permit Procedure” in Sweden limit the bioheat
development whereas regulations like “Wood Fuel programme”
in France or “Energy Saving Ordinance” in Germany have a
positive impact on biomass development for heat. The pellet
market largely depends on the financial incentives the country
decides to implement. For example, the increased sales in
Ireland are related to the Irish Government’s aggressively subsi-
dized, Bio Heat Boiler Deployment Programme. The scheme
started with massive grants for wood fuels boilers which in
some cases nearly covered total costs. As a result, the sales of
the Irish boiler manufacturers have increased significantly (more
than 50%).
Legislation and support schemes
Directive/commu-
nication
Date of publica-
tion
Purpose
D i r e c t i v e
2002/91/EC on the
energy perfor-
mance in buildings
Published on 16
December 2002
Measures on the
energy performance
in buildings.
Biomass Action
plan COM (2005)
628 final (BAP)
This Commission
c o m m u n i c a t i o n
was adopted 7
December 2005
Designed to increase
the use of energy
from forestry, agricul-
ture and waste mate-
rials in three sectors:
heating, electricity
and transport.
D i r e c t i v e
2004/8/EC (CHP)
Published on 11
February 2004
Directive has the aim
to promote cogene-
ration based on a
needed heat demand
in the internal energy
market.
Renewables road-
map (within the
Energy package)
Published on 10
January 2007 and
accepted by the
European Spring
Council on 8-9
March 2007
The aim is to increase
the share of renewa-
bles in the current
energy mix to 20% by
2020.
Page 9
Source: Kahl
Therefore, one of the most important criteria to develop bioheat
in Europe is to make it competitive with fossil fuel systems. It
can be done using the following measures:
•
High fossil fuel prices: even if barrel prices go down the price
level of fossil fuel should be maintained high with a help of taxa-
tion policy. Directive 2003/96 is the first step towards minimum
taxation. However a minimum of 21
€
/1000 litres is far too low
considering the fact that the EU-25 average is 128
€
.
•
Lower biofuels cost: biofuels should be exempt from taxa-
tion and VAT should be reduced to the minimum level which is
not the case in many countries.
•
Subsidies to biofuels conversion systems: technologies to
convert biomass to bioheat are generally more expensive but
the fuel price is lower. This higher capital cost is a barrier for
investors which can be overcome by using subsidies as a part
of the investment.
•
High efficiencies: efficiencies of modern automatic systems
are already comparable to the ones of fossil systems, therefore,
further improvements would have only a minor impact. But there
is room for significant improvements in the case of bioheat at
household level that is still largely produced with wood logs
based systems.
Examples of national support schemes
France – tax credit for sustainable development
The Finance Law from 2005 has introduced a tax credit for sus-
tainable development and rational use of energy. The aim of this
law was to favour high efficiency equipment and the use of rene-
wable energy. The system applies from beginning 2005 to end
2009. Biomass equipment for heating is eligible for a tax credit
up to 50%. However, the minimum efficiency of 65% is requi-
red and the equipments have to meet certain technical stan-
dards.
Germany – market incentive programme MAP
The main steering instrument for the whole RES-heat market in
Germany is the Programme to Promote Renewable Energies
(“Market Incentive Programme”) which supports biomass hea-
ting systems as well as electricity facilities and biogas plants.
Source: ITEBE
Page 10
Source: OKOFEN
Impact of subsidies-stop on boiler sales in Germany 2006
France – a good example of political support
The main focus, however, is on the small scale heating systems
in the heat sector.
The MAP came into force in September 1999. Every year the
German government decides upon the budget of MAP for the
following year as well as regulation behind the budget. The pro-
gramme supports renewable heating systems with grants, long-
term and low-interest loans and/or partial release of debts and
had a budget of 180 m
€
in 2005 and 2006 and will have 213 m
€
in 2007.
The programme is very successful, however, its’ budget is limi-
ted. The budget is usually emptied long time before the year
ends creating an insecure basis for investments and a negative
impact on security of demand.
Small scale applications
As for small scale pellet heating systems, the MAP supports
automatically operated wood pellet systems in a range of 8 to
100 kWth with a grant of 24
€
per kW and at least 1.000
€
for
systems that reaches an efficiency of at least 90% (in 2007). In
addition an innovation bonus was introduced in 2007: systems
which meet particularly challenging environmental requirements
(e.g. secondary measures for emission reduction) get a double
amount of the basic grant. Administrative burdens are lowered
to get the basic grant - it is already possible to invest without
having applied for the support in advance. However, in order to
get the innovation bonus one has to apply in advance and can
start installing the RES systems only after the approval.
Sweden – taxation of fossil fuels
The Swedish energy taxation policy is aimed at encouraging the
use of biofuels whilst improving energy efficiency and creating
incentives for companies to reduce their environmental impact.
Page 11
Source: DEPV
Source: ProPellets
Pellets boiler market growth in Germany
Sweden – policies make a difference
In the year 2000 it was decided to increase the taxes on energy
emissions and reduce the labour tax instead. In this way, the
Swedish carbon dioxide emissions are to be cut, which is in line
with the Kyoto protocol.
“Energy tax” covers all taxes on fuels and electricity and can be
divided into fiscal taxes and those aiming to achieve environ-
mental objectives. Carbon dioxide and Sulphur taxes (both
introduced in 1991) are intended to achieve environmental
objectives, while the general energy tax is essentially a fiscal
tax. However there is no strict boundary between these two
types, as both groups have an environmental effect as well as a
fiscal one.
The general energy tax is levied on most fuels. The carbon
dioxide tax, is levied on the emitted quantities of CO2 from all
fuels except biofuels and peat. The Sulphur tax is levied on sul-
phur emissions from coal and peat. In 1992 an environmental
levy on NOx emissions was introduced. NOx emissions from
boilers, gas turbines and stationary combustion plants sup-
plying at least 25 GWh per annum.
Tax deduction for biofuels appliance
Those who build a new house and install a biofuel appliance as
the primary energy source for heating and hot tap water, are
able to receive a tax deduction. The rule applies for single family
houses, farm units and the houses with maximum two apart-
ments. One precondition is that the heat is distributed to the
house through a central heated water pipe network. The tax
deduction is limited to maximum 15000 SEK (1613 EUR) per
house. This scheme is directed to heating of dwellings at small
scale. It is designed to impact on the small scale wood and pel-
lets applications, but can also affect briquette, wood chips and
agricultural crops.
Fine dust emissions
Fine dust emissions of standard pellet boilers are very low com-
paring to the old logwood stoves and boilers, nevertheless,
various regulations limiting fine dust emissions became a major
barrier to the market growth of pellet boilers.
According to the EU regulation, the dust content in the air
should not exceed 35 days a year, therefore combined heating
systems using solar power and pellets is a good solution to
comply with the EU laws.
The solar energy and biomass is a good combination as it offers
the most economic way to realise 100 % renewable energy sup-
ply for domestic heating and hot water. Combined solar-bio-
mass system allows to store the solar energy in summer in order
to use it for residential heating in winter. In a way, biomass is
also a seasonal store of solar energy, but its’ heat storage den-
sity is about 50 times higher than that of a water storage tank.
The most economic and effective system to realise a full solar
heating system for single family houses is the combination of a
biomass boiler (e.g. pellets), a water tank (2-3 m3) and thermal
solar collectors. In summer the solar system provides hot water
and stores it in the tank.
In autumn and spring the solar system can also provide heating
(dependent on its size). In winter the biomass boiler uses the
heat store, which allows full power operation of the boiler and
continuous heat retrieval at any required load.
Source: OKOFEN
Source: VELUX - ESTIF
Page 12
T
he market of pellets use for
small-scale heating systems
increases every year. This
trend is a result of growing prices for
fossil fuels. Growing fossil fuels pri-
ces together with financial incenti-
ves are the key factors influencing
the competitiveness of bioheat mar-
ket.
European Pellet Market
Scandinavia
The development of the pellet mar-
kets in Scandinavia draws a surpri-
singly heterogeneous picture. While
Denmark and Sweden are big pellet
markets – Sweden is currently the
biggest pellet market in Europe –
Finland and Norway use only insi-
gnificant pellet quantities for thermal
energy production. These astoni-
shing differences in countries which
are similar in resources are evidence
of the big influence of the political environment on the develop-
ment of the pellet industry. In Sweden and Denmark centuries of
active energy politics together with significant taxation of fossil
energy has encouraged an early development of the pellet mar-
ket. This development has taken place much faster than in
Finland or Norway, where only recently first efforts have been
taken to get the market moving. In these two countries signifi-
cant economic incentives are missing, as competing sources of
energy are cheap.
In Norway the thermal energy market is dominated by electrical
heating systems, which makes it difficult to change to pellet bur-
ners, as central heating facilities are a prerequisite. When
Norway suffered from first shortages of electricity three years
ago in winter prices increased considerably and great demand
for pellet stoves developed rapidly, a development which was
supported by government subsidies. These subsidies, were
stopped not much later, which caused a decline in the develop-
ment of the market.
Finland is pursuing the introduction of pellet heating facilities
into the thermal energy market much more consequently.
Conditions are not easy, however, as Finland does not have
energy taxation and competing sources of energy are cheap.
Nevertheless, Finnish experts predict a significant growth of the
pellet market.
In Denmark one third of all pellets goes to district heating facili-
ties, two thirds go to domestic pellet heating facilities. After a
rapid growth in the late 1990s triggered by generous govern-
ment assistance a change in Government brought about the
end of subsidies. As a result there was a sudden decline of the
market.
The development in Sweden is quite different. The continuous
government support ensures stable market conditions. Along
with energy taxes established many years ago, recent promo-
tion programs for the implementation of pellet heating facilities
have lead to a rapid rise in the number of domestic pellet hea-
ting systems.
Market development in the Atlantic climate zone
In the past France, Ireland
and England have been
countries where there
have not been any politi-
cal measures to promote
renewable energy on the
thermal energy market at
all. This has changed in
the recent past. In 2006
Ireland introduced subsi-
dies for pellet heating
facilities for the first time,
and England and France
also grant subsidies now.
Against the background
of the mild climate in
these countries it can be
expected that especially
pellet stoves will show a
positive trend in the
future.
Pellet market
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Page 13
Source: European Pellet Centre
Source: proPellets
Evolution of the number of pellets stoves and
boilers in selected countries
European market for residential heating systems
At the moment, however, these markets find themselves “in
statu nascendi” and will probably start to grow substantially in
the next years. Especially France is expected to offer good
chances for pellet stoves. There the thermal energy market is
dominated by electrical heating systems, the implementation of
central heating facilities therefore is disproportionately costly.
There has been a long tradition in using conventional wood sto-
ves - France is the biggest firewood market in Europe. As soon
as the advantages of pellet stoves in handling and comfort in
comparison to conventional stoves are communicated on a
wider scale, a dramatic market growth can be expected.
Conditions in France are especially favourable because of the
huge availability of raw material. This is not true of Ireland and
England. But the world market can easily supply these countries
by sea.
Mediterranean area
In the Mediterranean zone Italy claims a special status. Italy is
one of the biggest and fastest-growing pellet markets in Europe.
Experts report sales of up to 100.000 pellet stoves this year.
Because of the mild climate in wide parts of the country pellet
burners play no significant role in Italy at all. The development
of this market has definitely been supported by the good availa-
bility of pellets, which to a considerable extent have been impor-
ted from Austria. Decisive factors for the successful develop-
ment of pellets in Italy have undoubtedly been high taxation on
oil and high gas prices. There is no other Mediterranean coun-
try which shows a similar development.
Spain offers good opportunities, but the development is still in
its beginning. So far no pellet supply infrastructure has been
established, and home production is very low. The situation is
similar in Portugal where there are hardly pellets on the market,
although the situation with regard to the availability of resources
is favourable. But there are good chances for a change also in
these two countries. Stronger political focus on this subject,
increasingly active and growing companies together with good
availability of raw material could lead to a major growth of the
Spanish and Portuguese markets within the next couple of
years. Even in Greece pellet production is reported. Instead of
electric heaters pellet stoves can be an interesting and econo-
mical alternative there.
Central Europe
In Central Europe the pellet markets of Germany and Austria are
predominant by far. After 8 years of dynamic market growth the
Austrian pellet burner market had its peak in 2005 as a result
from the oil price increase. Sales went up by 45% in compari-
son to the previous year. While in the years before the market
had shown an oversupply of pellets and a continuous fall in pri-
ces, in autumn 2005 the situation in Austria changed suddenly.
An enormous increase in the number of new facilities and a cold
winter caused shortages in the supply of timber to the saw mills
and to supply difficulties. All customers could be supplied, but
had to accept partial shipments and considerable waiting times
in many cases.
Since spring 2005 pellet prices in Austria have risen conti-
nuously, with exorbitant increases recently. Compared to
September 2005 prices in September 2006 have increased by
50% and were at an average of
€
243 per ton.
New member states
In some of the new EU member states we can see extraordinary
raw material potentials, which could be used for pellet produc-
tion. The current pellet production is mainly meant for export.
Because of the high prices of heating facilities the development
of pellet markets in these countries might take quite a while.
Page 14
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E
Comparaison of International Pellet Markets
Source: proPellets
Page 15
Project partners located in
Renewable Energy House
Rue d’Arlon 63-65
1040 Brussels, Belgium
Coordinator
EREC – European Renewable Energy Council
Ms Christine Lins
Tel: +32 2 546 19 33
Fax: +32 2 546 19 34
Email:
lins@erec-renewables.org
AEBIOM –European Biomass Association
Ms Edita Vagonyte
Tel: +32 2 400 10 22
Fax: +32 2 546 19 34
Email:
vagonyte@aebiom.org
Web: www.aebiom.org
EWEA - European Wind Energy Association
Ms Zoe Wildiers
Tel: +32 2 546 19 88
Fax: +32 2 546 19 44
Email:
zoe.wildiers@ewea.org
EPIA - European Photovoltaic Industry Association
Ms Eleni Despotou
Tel: +32 2 400 10 13
Fax: +32 2 400 10 10
Email:
pol@epia.org
ESHA – European Small Hydropower Association
Ms Maria Laguna
Tel: + 32 2 546 19 45
Fax: + 32 2 546 19 34
Email:
maria.laguna@esha.be
EUBIA – European Biomass Industry Association
Mr Alexander Allan
Tel: +32 2 400 10 18
Fax: +32 2 400 10 21
Email:
alexander.allan@eubia.org
EGEC - European Wind Energy Association
Mr Philippe Dumas
Tel: +32 2 400 10 24
Fax: +32 2 546 19 34
Email:
p.dumas@egec.org
ESTIF - European Solar Thermal Industry Federation
Uwe Brechlin
Tel: +32 2 546 19 37
Fax: +32 2 546 19 39
Email:
uwe.brechlin@estif.org
Project partners outside REH
ADEME – French Environment and Energy Management Agency
Mr Stéphane Pouffary
Tel: +33 4 93 95 79 55
Fax: +33 4 93 65 31 96
Email:
stephane.pouffary@ademe.fr
NTUA – National Technical University of Athens
Mr Arthouros Zervos
Tel: + 30 210 772 1030
Fax: + 30 210 772 1047
Email:
zervos@fluid.mech.ntua.gr
ECB - Energy Centre Bratislava
Mr Roman Doubrava
Tel: +421 903 240 559
Fax: +421 2 593 00097
Email:
doubrava@ecb.sk
GAIA - GAIA S.L. Consultores en gestion ambiental
Cipriano Marin
Tel: + 34 922 230 688
Fax: + 34 922 200 951
Email:
cipriano.marin@islandsonline.org
For further information, visit
www.erec.org
About the project
RESTMAC project ’Creating Markets for Renewable Energy Technologies - EU RES technology marketing campaign’ aims at deve-
loping and implementing a concise, well-targeted and thematic approach to ensure the dissemination and uptake of selected RES
technologies in the market. In other words the consortium works towards establishing a technology marketing campaign for the
different RE technologies involved. So far R&D formed a good basis for the outstanding industry development in the Renewable
Energy area. Nevertheless, the market uptake of these R&D results is not always happening in the best possible way and therefore
needs to be improved. Lack of information and limited use of synergies between various stakeholders (industries, governments,
investors..) are still the key critical barriers towards Renewable Energy Technologies.
The renewable energy sectors to be marketed include: PV (photovoltaic), SHP (Small Hydro Power), Biomass, Geothermal, Solar
Thermal and Wind Power.
RESMAC project
Supported by
CONTACTS
Page 16
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