An Opportunity for Renewable Energy: Wood Pellet Use by Rural Households

Abstract

This chapter focuses on wood pellets as a renewable, environmentally friendly, and locally available energy source that has a potential to replace fossil fuels, especially coal, in space and water heating in Poland’s rural areas. The use of wood pellets results in substantial reduction of GHG emissions and particulate matter, while generating a smaller amount of ash that can be used as fertilizer, decreasing landfill load. The 2018 implementation of the “Clean Air” program providing subsidies and low-cost loans for energy-efficiency improvements of single-family homes has attracted applicants seeking to replace their current heating systems with biomass-fed systems. The program could help stabilize the emerging domestic wood pellet industry by expanding demand for wood pellets and lessen industry dependence on export markets. The surveyed wood pellet manufacturers have been focused on the residential customer and offer certified, high-quality pellets at a variety of prices matched by a wide range of automated pellet furnaces and boilers. Two cases of residential wood pellet users illustrate the suitability of pellets as a heating source, proving their convenience, ease, and cost-competitiveness. With domestic forests as a source of future raw material, rural wood pellet users will make an important contribution to renewable energy utilization while reducing harmful emissions.