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

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  • Proskurina, Svetlana
  • Alakangas, Eija
  • Heinimö, Jussi
  • Mikkilä, Mirja
  • Vakkilainen, Esa

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.

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  • Proskurina, Svetlana & Alakangas, Eija & Heinimö, Jussi & Mikkilä, Mirja & Vakkilainen, Esa, 2017. "A survey analysis of the wood pellet industry in Finland: Future perspectives," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 692-704.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:118:y:2017:i:c:p:692-704
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2016.10.102
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    Cited by:

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    3. Mostafa, Mohamed E. & Hu, Song & Wang, Yi & Su, Sheng & Hu, Xun & Elsayed, Saad A. & Xiang, Jun, 2019. "The significance of pelletization operating conditions: An analysis of physical and mechanical characteristics as well as energy consumption of biomass pellets," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 332-348.
    4. Nabavi, Vahid & Azizi, Majid & Tarmian, Asghar & Ray, Charles David, 2020. "Feasibility study on the production and consumption of wood pellets in Iran to meet return-on-investment and greenhouse gas emissions targets," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 1-20.
    5. Casey Olechnowicz & Jessica Leahy & Tian Guo & Emily Silver Huff & Cecilia Danks & Maura Adams, 2021. "Industry Leaders’ Perceptions of Residential Wood Pellet Technology Diffusion in the Northeastern U.S," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-15, April.
    6. Santos, Andreia & Carvalho, Ana & Barbosa-Póvoa, Ana Paula & Marques, Alexandra & Amorim, Pedro, 2019. "Assessment and optimization of sustainable forest wood supply chains – A systematic literature review," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 112-135.
    7. Antonio Pantaleo & Mauro Villarini & Andrea Colantoni & Maurizio Carlini & Francesco Santoro & Sara Rajabi Hamedani, 2020. "Techno-Economic Modeling of Biomass Pellet Routes: Feasibility in Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-15, April.

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