Wood Pellet Mill Sales Take off As Demand Rises, Supply Tightens

With heating costs expected to soar this winter, demand for pellets and pellet-burning stoves is going through the roof, and supplies are tightening.

Home Depot, the nation's largest home improvement chain, reported recently pellet sales in its northern U.S. division soared 3,300 percent over last year.

Prices are following demand.

The price per ton is up $10 from last year, to $195, at the Sand Lake Feed & Supply store in Sand Lake, said owner Doug Guiles.

That has not slowed demand. He had two semi-truck loads of pellets, 22 tons each, on back order last month. A ton fills 50 40-pound bags.

By the numbers For heating power, 1 ton of wood pellets equals:

• 120 gallons of heating oil

• 170 gallons of propane

• 16,000 cubic feet of natural gas

• 4,775 kilowatts of electricity

Heating with wood pellets, at $200 a ton, is the same as paying:

• $1.67 per gallon for oil heat (Local market price is about $3.90 per gallon)

• $1.18 per gallon for propane (Local market price is about $2.69 per gallon)
• $12.50 per 1,000 cubic feet for natural gas (DTE is charging $11.36 per 1,000 cubic feet, plus distribution charges)
As a renewable energy, the wood pellet mill will be popular more and more.