Pellet fuel is flying off the shelves. 

But is there enough to go around?And what are the supply  challenges for the future?

The increase of the price of oil in recent years has caused people to rethink the way they heat their homes. This has meant great news for the pellet industry, which has experienced enormous boosts in the sales of pellet stoves. “In the third quarter shipments of pellet stoves were up 168 percent from this time last year,” says Deidra Darsa, media relations for the Pellet Fuel Institute in Arlington, VA. “This of course means that pellet fuel is flying off the shelves. Pellets are very popular, they are a very clean burning fuel, very efficient heating source.”

Sudden increases in the demand for the product have meant shortages in pellet fuel in areas across North America. According to John Swaan, executive director for the Wood Pellet Association of Canada this is a distribution issue, not a supply shortage. “Of the about two million ton capacity for wood pellet fuel in Canada, about half of it is going to Europe at this time,” he says. “This is because there are long term commitments in place.”

Another issue he mentions is the distribution of the product within Canada, a topic he is addressing with big box stores across the country. Stores located in more rural areas and areas that have less access to natural gas should have wood pellets available, he says. “I have been going to the senior levels of box stores and trying to bring them up to date on what they need to expect and to give them an idea of where their volumes need to be directed,” he says. “The Canadian Tire store in downtown Montreal, Quebec doesn’t need to have wood pellets but the Canadian Tire in downtown Ottawa, Ontario does.” The problem lies with stores deciding to carry stock based on the performance of the main stores in the area, he says. “It is not that we’re not producing it, not that we don’t have it,” he says. “We’d love nothing more.”

The way that stores market pellet fuel as a product for winter months only also impacts the products scarcity, says Swaan. “They look at it as a seasonal product, they put it on the shelves in November and take it off in December because they want to start putting up gardening supplies,” he says. “They need to carry it for the heating season.”