Pellets from wood and biomass have many supporters, but also obdurate opponents. The most common argument of opponents is to claim that the production and distribution of the pellets is very energy intensive, thus degrading the economy and environmental friendliness of this type of fuel. But the reality is different.

Wood pellets are still the most common type of pellets used as fuel, especially in small heat sources till to 200 kW. Increasingly there is talk about herbal pellets, i.e. pellets produced from non-wood biomass, whether various agricultural wastes or targeted grown energy crops. They were neglected so far, but due to the lack of raw material for wood pellets herbal pellets are increasingly discussed as well as an alternative fuel for small capacity boilers. The energy intensity of producing wood pellets can quite well be determined as its input material is relatively well defined.

More about energy consumption of production of wood and plant pellets: