Catch up with PFI in this issue of the Pellet Wire!

March 19, 2021 

In this Week's Pellet Wire:


From the Director's Desk: 

Tax Credit One-Pager Available on pelletheat.org

Almost immediately after hearing that the residential component of the BTU Act was signed into law the Pellet Fuels Institute went to work on aggregating information and publishing it on our website. The page was developed with our retail partners and their customers in mind. Next, we set our sights on developing a one-page takeaway to arm our downstream retail partners with something they could give prospective customers to convey the very basics of the tax credit, while also directing them to our website for more information. I’m happy with how the document ended up. It's attractive, punchy, and entirely in black and white. The black and white format recognizes that many retail locations have simple black and white printers on site. The piece was designed to be a handsome document that carries the PFI brand proudly. Please feel free todownload the document and distribute it widely. It does little good unless it lands in the hands of prospective pellet appliance buyers.

PFI Annual Conference is On!

A favorite high school composition teacher told me long ago that my lifetime quota for the use of exclamation points was one. I cannot imagine a better place to use it than to draw attention to our decision to go forward with a in-person annual conference this year. Encouraged by the progress of vaccinations and the careful reopening of venues for in-person gatherings we have made the decision to move forward with a “real” conference. We could not be more excited. We fully expect that our event will look different than events in the past (I think buffet lines and chafing dishes of self-serve food are likely out), but the event will still offer the year’s single best opportunity to network with a broad swath of pellet producers. Details are being finalized and we expect registration to be open by the end of the month. Please watch pelletheat.org for forthcoming details.

EIA Data Shows 2020 Pellet Production and Sales Totals Just Short of 2019 Numbers

On Wednesday the Energy Information Administration published the December 2020 data completing the data set for the 2020 production year. Milder temperatures in the East and South softened sales numbers, making December 2020 (177,098 tons) the smallest December in the report’s history. The soft December contributed to a fourth quarter slump that saw the sector sell just over 600,000 tons, 50,000 tons less than the next lowest 4th quarter (650,000 in 2017) since 2016. While sales fizzled a bit in the fourth quarter, the year fell just short of the high-water mark set last year (2,220,264 in 2019 vs. 2,185,880 in 2020). Considering the uncertainty facing the sector just one year ago with questions about the pandemic’s impact on inbound fiber, business continuation, and retailer closures, I’d offer the year ended up as good as anyone may have hoped for. Had some colder temperatures showed up in the fourth quarter we likely would be talking about a record year. 

Tim Portz 
Executive Director


Photo of the Week

Protecting their #1 Asset: A company-wide initiative to offer vaccines to all its employees at Allegheny Wood Products and Appalachian Wood Pellets wrapped up last week. Working in partnership with local health agencies, the organization was able to offer over 250 employees an opportunity to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. In this photograph Charles Wagner, Quality Control/Safety Director at Appalachian Wood Pellets, receives the vaccine.

Send Us Photos! Help us build a collection of photos of our members, their pellets mills, and product! Send images to Tim Portz at [email protected].


Follow PFI on Twitter, Friend Us on Facebook, and Connect with Us on LinkedIn 

We'd like to connect and interact with PFI members and anyone else involved in pellet fuel production! 

Here's how you can help us build our online community:

  1. Follow us on TwitterFacebook, and LinkedIn!
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  3. Send Tim Portz news or other ideas to post on PFI's social media

Have News to Share on Pellet Wire?

We would love to feature your company's news in a future Pellet Wire! Let us be the first to know about your company's recent developments, and we will share them with the broader pellet fuels industry.

Please get in touch with Tim Portz via email at [email protected] with information on your company's growth, job openings, promotions, or other news. 


Join a PFI Committee

We welcome and encourage all interested PFI members to get involved in our committees. There are many opportunities to help steer the association. No matter where your expertise and interests lie, we have a committee that will suit you. Help us plan our next conference, shape our policy agenda, lead communications outreach, or grow the PFI Standards Program. Visit PFI's Committee Page for more information.

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Fuel Availability

Are you a PFI member, pellet manufacturer, or distributor that has fuel available? Email [email protected] to have your listing updated or added to the PFI website.


Thanks for Your Continued Support of PFI! 

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Industry News

Biomass leaders discuss policy priorities and sustainability

The 2021 International Biomass Conference & Expo kicked off March 16 with a keynote address focused on biomass sustainability and a panel discussion with association leaders that addressed policy, markets and the COVID-19 pandemic...

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Cardboard-to-pellet project receives $95,000 grant

An innovative partnership between Aurora College and a Gwich’in-owned company has received $95,000 to support studying the potential to convert waste cardboard into heating pellets for homes and businesses in Inuvik and the Beaufort Delta...

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EIA: Densified biomass fuel sales reach 770,000 tons in November

The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently released data showing U.S. manufacturers produced approximately 800,000 tons of densified biomass fuel in November, with sales reaching 770,000 tons...

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Senate votes to confirm Regan as EPA administrator

The U.S. Senate on March 10 voted 66 to 34 to confirm Michael Regan as administrator of the U.S. EPA. Representatives of the biofuels and bioenergy industries have spoken out in support of Regan’s confirmation... 

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Pellet Fuels Institute

[email protected] | (206) 209-5277 | www.pelletheat.org