Estonia’s wood pellet industry stokes controversyProducers of wood pellets say they only use wood that has been rejected by sawmills or plywood factories, but environmentalists say that biomass demand is causing logging to intensify, threatening some bird speciesBy Polina Kalantar / AFP, IMAVERE, EstoniaEstonia’s thriving wood pellet industry is pitting environmentalists who say it increases logging and harms biodiversity against supporters who say it makes good use of wood that would otherwise go to waste. However, at a plant belonging to Europe’s biggest wood pellet producer, Estonia’s AS Graanul Invest, Mihkel Jugaste, the company’s head of quality and certification systems, defended the industry. Environmentalists say that the wood pellet industry has caused an increase in forest logging, but supporters of the sector say it is making efficient use of low-quality wood. Wood pellets are a type of biofuel that can be used in special pellet stoves or central heating furnaces for homes. Ehrpais, who is also the head of Vardi Metsauhistu, a forest management organization, said it was “an unbelievable myth” that the wood pellet industry was leading to an increase in logging.

Source: Taipei Times December 18, 2021 17:13 UTC