Analysis of wood pellet production in Latvia
2019
Licite, L., Latvia Univ. of Life Sciences and Technologies, Jelgava (Latvia) | Cunskis, J., Latvia Univ. of Life Sciences and Technologies, Jelgava (Latvia)
The European Union has set a target of at least a 27 % share of renewable energy consumption by 2030. This objective has resulted in a surge in the production and consumption of wood pellets. The global production of pellets was approximately 31 million t in 2017, and Latvia was the third largest producer of wood pellets in Europe. Latvia shipped 90 % of its total wood pellet production abroad and consumed only about 10 % of the total in its domestic market. The research aim is to examine the production of wood pellets and identify opportunities for the expansion of wood pellet production in Latvia. The research found that in the period 2008- 2017, the production of wood pellets increased four-fold in Latvia (to 1166 thou. t in 2017) and the consumption of wood pellets increased almost nine-fold (from 16 thou. t in 2008 to nearly 140 thou. t in 2017). However, the total consumption of wood pellets was low in Latvia, as there were No industrial consumers of this product. Households were the main consumers of wood pellets in the domestic market; therefore, almost the entire quantity of wood pellets was exported from Latvia to industrial consumers in Europe. Besides, wood pellets were also imported in order to be re-exported. Based on expert interviews and a SWOT analysis, the research designed the following strategies for the expansion of wood pellet production in Latvia: the expansion of torrefied wood pellet production, the promotion of wood pellet consumption by households and enterprises and the entry of new markets for the purpose of reducing the dependence of the wood pellet industry on the current export markets.
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