Wood pellets

What are wood pellets?

Wood pellets are biofuels made from compressed wood fibre.

In British Columbia (B.C.), wood pellets are made primarily from the residuals left over from the sawmilling process when logs are converted into lumber and other high-value wood products. Increasingly, harvesting residuals in the forest and low-quality logs once left as waste are also a source of raw material for wood pellets. By making wood pellets from fibre that was once burned or left behind, the wood pellet sector is reducing waste and turning that debris into valuable, low carbon biofuel.

Wood pellets are recognized by scientists and global agencies as a biofuel that offers climate benefits as compared to fossil fuels (PDF). The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world’s leading authority on climate change, has recognized the significant greenhouse gas mitigation potential of biomass— compared to the fossil energy baseline—provided that it is developed sustainably and used efficiently.

B.C.’s forests are some of the most resilient and sustainably managed in the world—subject to stringent environmental regulation, careful management and extensive third-party certification.