U.S. manufacturers produced approximately 900,000 tons of densified biomass fuels in May, according to the latest edition of the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Monthly Densified Biomass Fuels Report, released Sept. 18. Sales of densified biomass fuel reached 850,000 tons during the month.
The EIA collected data from 75 operating manufacturers of densified biomass fuel to complete the report. The report does not include data on facilities with annual production capacities of less than 10,000 tons, which report data annually rather than monthly.
The 75 manufacturers surveyed for May had a total combined production capacity of 13.04 million tons per year and collectively had the equivalent of 2,417 full-time employees.
Respondents purchased 1.8 million tons of raw biomass feedstock in May, produced 900,000 tons of densified biomass fuel and sold 850,000 tons of densified biomass fuel. Production included 116,791 tons of heating pellets and 786,223 tons of utility pellets.
Domestic sales of densified biomass fuel in May reached 84,185 tons at an average price of $238.82 per ton. Exports in May reached 770,610 tons at an average price of $203.36 per ton.
Inventories of utility pellets expanded to 513,862 tons in May, up from 498,781 tons in April. Inventories of premium/standard wood pellets reached 342,064 tons in May, up from 297,016 tons in April.
Data gathered by the EIA shows that total U.S. densified biomass fuel capacity reached 13.43 million tons in May, with all of that capacity listed as currently operating or temporarily not in operation. Capacity included 1.97 million tons in the East, 10.67 million tons in the South, and 797,700 tons in the West.
