Date of Graduation
Spring 2019
Degree
Master Science in Agriculture
Department
College of Agriculture
Committee Chair
Michael Goerndt
Abstract
The pellet wood industry in the United States has grown exponentially in recent years, due mostly to the expanding export market to Europe. At this time, the European market for pellet wood is highly subsidized as part of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) in an effort to mitigate fossil fuel consumption for power production. Although there are other popular renewable resources such as wind, water, and solar, the burning of biomass is among the most utilized sources of renewable energy today. This study examines the existing pellet wood industry in the United States, particularly within the Ozarks and Appalachia Regions, so as to identify locational characteristics of existing pellet wood facilities. Taking this study a step further, this data was then used to identify localities within the study area that could reasonably be predicted to facilitate an expansion of the pellet wood industry in the future. This industry expansion would have the potential to create many regional jobs within the industry, and bring outside money to struggling rural economies.
Keywords
pellet wood, biomass, bioenergy, Appalachia, Ozarks
Subject Categories
Other Forestry and Forest Sciences
Copyright
© James Robert Criger
Recommended Citation
Criger, James Robert, "Forest Feedstock Supply Chains and Market Potential for Wood Pellet Facilities in the Ozark and Appalachia Regions" (2019). MSU Graduate Theses. 3347.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/3347
