Pellet manufacturing and consumption increases in Spain

The Spanish Biomass Association (AVEBIOM) has published the latest statistical report on the wood pellet market for 2022 and 2023. In this report you can find production and consumption data for wood pellets both nationally and by country. autonomous communities. It also includes statistics on the evolution of the ENplus certification system in Spain.

Since 2022, national manufacturers have made a great effort by increasing production and prioritizing their service to Spanish customers. The result of these is that the production and consumption curves tend to approach each other. The difference is made up by imports from Portugal.

It has become clear that pellet manufacturing in Spain is increasingly concentrated in large capacity plants while smaller facilities that are not connected to wood-related activities tend to disappear: between 2021 and 2022 we have gone from 75 to 67 factories. Thirty-six of them have a valid ENplus certificate and are responsible for 90% of certified production in Spain.

Pablo Rodero, responsible for certification at AVEBIOM and current president of the European Pellet Council, highlights “the commitment of Spanish producers, who guarantee that 89% of national production is ENplus certified”, and also the training and “responsibility of the consumers, who consider it important or very important that the pellet they purchase is of certified quality and sustainability.”

Consumers trust pellets despite the crisis
The increase in inflation and high pellet prices, common throughout Europe, slowed down the pace of installation of pellet equipment in Spain by 13% in the second half of 2022 compared to to the previous year, when sales records for new equipment in the domestic sector were broken.

But, according to the latest survey on pellet consumption in the EU carried out by Bioenergy Europe (carried out at the end of November and forthcoming), the majority of European and Spanish users confirm that they will continue using pellets despite the fact that in the last season they were worried about rising prices.

In any case, heating with gas in 2022 was 44% more expensive than heating with pellets, and heating with electric radiators, for example, cost three times as much as heating with pellets.

Since 2012 we have analyzed pellet prices both at the factory (monthly) and at points of sale (quarterly). Since April 2023, prices have remained stable at values ​​similar to those of summer 2022 (€275/ton) and, although it does not seem likely that in the coming months we will return to pre-crisis prices, the reduction in exports to countries such as Italy and a start to the season that is not very cold can lead to a temporary excess of stock that could bring offers in prices at the beginning of the year.

The change from VAT to pellets
The 5% VAT on energy supplies ends on December 31 and becomes 10% during the first half of 2024 for pellets and other solid biofuels, before returning to 21%. Without a doubt, this circumstance will encourage consumers to stock up on pellets before the grace period ends.

Access to the 2023 pellet report
www.avebiom.org/proyectos/informes/informe-pellets-2023