A survey analysis of the wood pellet industry in Finland: Future perspectives

Svetlana Proskurina (Corresponding Author), Eija Alakangas, Jussi Heinimö, Mirja Mikkilä, Esa Vakkilainen

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

    33 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Finland has the greatest forest cover of European countries and thus considerable raw material potential for wood pellet market development. Wood pellet production and consumption volumes in the country have increased steadily during the last decades. The aim of this paper is to present an overview of the current status of the Finnish wood pellet business and discuss the main opportunities and challenges facing future development of the industry. The paper collects and revises data on the Finnish wood pellet market based on the results of a survey of nearly 60 wood pellet experts. The results show that neglect of policy support and a lack of suitable regulation are the key factors inhibiting Finnish wood pellet industry development. Currently, wood pellets are not economically competitive with other fuels. However, Finnish wood pellet markets seem promising if challenges such as high raw material costs and competitiveness with other fuels, especially for household users, are addressed. The country has the potential to become a more important producer and consumer on European wood pellet markets if effective policy support and a suitable regulatory framework are formulated.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)692-704
    JournalEnergy
    Volume118
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2017
    MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

    Keywords

    • pellets
    • market
    • Finland
    • bioenergy
    • combined heat and power
    • biomass

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