Wood pellets in the Swedish residential market

The production of wood pellets in Sweden has increased steadily throughout the 1990s to about 500,000 tonnes in 1996. Previously used mainly by large-scale heating plants, wood pellets are now rapidly expanding into the residential heating market. The aim of this study was to analyze consumption patterns for wood pellets in the residential market. The information retrieval tools were a questionnaire survey of pellet retailers, primarily concerning the 1995-96 heating season, as well as study visits, interviews, and open printed sources. We asked questions about values for the heating season of 1995-96. The analyses are based on applied systems science. The average retail price for residential wood pellets, based on total annual sales, was 1,267 SEK1/tonne (74 SEK/GJ), including delivery. The average delivery cost to consumers was 228 SEK/tonne for 15 km. We identified some 60 pellet retailers as active during the period of measurement. Still, only about 3 percent of the total pellet production was used directly by residential customers. The residential pellet-burning equipment available in Sweden comprised 7 types of pellet furnaces, 17 stokers for retrofitting of oil or firewood furnaces, 6 pellet stove models, and 2 fireplace insert brands. The principal conclusions to be drawn from this study are that the residential market for wood pellets now is firmly in place and that the price of wood pellets is competitive with the prices of traditional fuels.