the u.s. south export pellet sector
TRANSCRIPT
The U.S.
South export
pellet sector
Tim Gammell,
Wood Resources International
Wood Pellet Assn of
Canada
2015 Conference,
Halifax, Nova Scotia
North American Overseas Pellet Export Volumes
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
mil
lio
n t
on
nes
Canada to Asia Canada to Europe U.S. to Europe
Source: WRI data
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
10
00
to
nn
es
U.S. South pellet exports by port regions
SE
Atlantic
Ports
SC Gulf
Ports
Source: WRI data
Company Location
Annual Capacity
('000 tonnes)
Atlantic Ports 2014 2015 2016-17
Enviva Courtland, VA 450 450 450
Enviva Ahoskie, NC 400 400 400
Enviva Garysburg, NC 500 500 500
Fram Renewable Baxley, GA 275 275 275
Fram Renewable Lumber City, GA 125 125 125
Fram Renewable Hazlehurst, GA 0 500 500
Georgia Biomass Waycross, GA 750 780 780
Varn Brothers Hoboken, GA 80 90 90
E-Pellets Nahunta, GA 60 60
Portucel Greenville Cty, SC 460
Drax Laurens Cty, SC 400
Enviva-Wilmington Richmond Cty, NC 400
Enviva-Wilmington Sampson Cty, NC 500
2580 3180 4940
Company Location
Annual Capacity
('000 tonnes)
Gulf Ports 2014 2015 2016-17
Enviva Cottondale, FL 650 650 650
Zilkha Selma, AL 0 275 275
Westervelt Aliceville, AL 250 275 275
Enviva Amory, MS 110 110 110
Enviva Wiggins, MS 110 110 110
Solvay Biomass Quitman, MS 80 220 220
Drax Gloster, MS 0 450 450
Drax Bastrop, LA 0 450 450
German Pellets Urania, LA 0 500 1000
German Pellets Woodville, TX 500 500 500
Zilkha Monticello, AR 450
Highland Pellets Pine Bluff, AR 450
Drax Magnolia, MS 400
1700 3540 5340
Three factors for competitive pellet plant:
logistics, wood supply, and expertise.
Hardwood roundwood being delivered to Enviva’s
Ahoskie, NC, pellet plant
Pic from Washington Post article
Enviva’s two pellet export facilities in N. Carolina and Virginia
Port of Wilmington, NC -
the first of two domes at
the site – pic found at Enviva’s
websitePort of Chesapeake, Virginia – pic from www.myreporter.com
Fram Renewables, Baxley, Georgia – also has newer facilities
in nearby Lumber City and Hazlehurst, GA
Fram deals nearly exclusively with sawmill residuals for its fiber – at least through 2014. Personal pic 2010
Georgia Biomass,
Waycross, Georgia
Lots of room for wood fiber –began with
design for 100% roundwood, but has slowly
moved to add shavings and sawdust dumps Personal pic 2013
Still the largest
single plant in the
U.S. South.
Facility designed
to move its
product to the
Port of Savannah,
Georgia with the
use of dedicated
rail cars.
Varn Wood
Products,
Hoboken,
Georgia
Pellet facility attached to its sawmill – built in 2011 Personal pic 2013
Enviva’s Cottondale Florida pellet mill (formerly Greencircle Bioenergy)
Primarily pine roundwood, but was designed to
accept sawdust, has increased that capacity and
more recently added an intake for shavings Personal pic 2010
Woodyard of Enviva’s Cottondale, FL
pellet plant
Pic from www.850businessmagazine.com
- in turn courtesy of Green Circle Bioenergy
Note fiber is delivered via three truck dumps, all chipped beforehand. Looks like a shavings truck dump in the upper right … Pic from Zilkha website
Zilkha Biomass, one of the newest in the U.S. South, Selma, Alabama
Westervelt Renewable
Energy, Aliceville, AL
Privately held sawmill,
forestlands, cogen, barges
product to port.
First U.S.
pellet plant to
achieve SBP
certification –
fall 2015.
Enviva,
Amory,
Mississippi
There are challenges in buying existing facilities – one is that they
are often on limited footprints – making expansion challenging. On
the other hand, its relatively small capacity emphasizes an
appropriate scale that allows it to rely on residuals. Personal pic 2011
Was
purchased and
re-purposed
from domestic
to export.
Solvay Biomass Energy, Quitman, MS
Torrified pellet product Pic from Solvay website.
Closed pulp mill in Bastrop, LA
Much of the increased wood utilization in the South for pellet manufacturing is merely replacing previous roundwood consumption
Personal pic 2011
Drax’s Baton Rouge pellet export facility (one
of two storage domes) pic from newspaper, the Advocate
Plenty of room at the site. Primary wood form is roundwood, but has from the start designed in truck dumps for sawdust & shavings Personal pic 2015
German Pellet’s 1 million
tonne capacity plant in
Urania, Louisiana
Pic from Southern Industrial Contractors LLC (facebook …)
Aerial view of German Pellet plant site,
Urania, Louisiana
Pic from www.german-pellets.de
German Pellets, Woodville, Texas
German Pellets export facility, Port Arthur TX Pic from www.evansgeneralcontractors.com
Fiber sourcing and priorities
Roundwood
Shavings
Sawdust
Micro-chipping
Chip-n-Saw
Unnamed sawmill in Georgia, Personal pic in 2010 (and 2013)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
in C
$ a
nd U
S$/o
dm
t(d
eliv
ered
)Sawdust prices in Selected NA Regions
BC C$/odmt BC US$/odmt US South US$/odmt
Source: NAWFR
Microchipping
“we bring in as much as we can stomach”
Threats and Opportunities
- Ongoing debate over
biomass as a bonafide,
sustainable green energy fuel
- Strength of U.S. currency
+ Ample fiber availability for
near term pellet sector
expansion
+ EPA Clean Power Plan
could create a significant new
market: coal plant co-firing
Summary
• The U.S. South pellet sector faces
same pressures regarding
legitimacy of green energy status
as does Canada’s pellet sector.
• There is great diversity in
ownership, size, and strategies
among the pellet producers.
• Current roundwood fiber supply
is plentiful, but if or when costs
rise, competitively priced
alternative fiber forms await.
Thank you!Wood Resources International, LLC
www.woodprices.comestablished in 1987, specializes in on-site
evaluations of forest industry fiber resources, and tracking wood fiber prices in over 20 countries on
five continents.
Forest industry consulting services:WRI serves the forest industry sector across North
America, with several recent fiber study projects in the U.S. Northwest. Clients include international forest and
energy companies, the World Bank, and the United Nation’s FAO.
Subscription services: North American Wood Fiber Review and Wood
Resource Quarterly
Håkan Ekström, President, [email protected]
Tim Gammell, NAWFR Editor, [email protected]