Last year, I published an article setting forth why Mississippi is rapidly becoming a wood pellet-producing powerhouse due to its wealth of sustainable forest products and abundant water transportation resources.

What I’ve seen and experienced since then confirms my bullish outlook for Mississippi and its timber farmers, and I wanted to share with you the reasons for my excitement.

In published comments and during conversations with me, Matthew Goodwin, director of the European Pellet Council, expressed confidence that demand for wood pellets and cellulose feedstocks for bioenergy to produce electricity and sustainable fuels, including aviation fuel, will substantially increase over the next five years. Confirming Goodwin’s bullish prognosis for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), United Airlines announced on July 31 it has become the first airline to purchase SAF at Chicago’s O'Hare.

Wood pellets are the most sustainable form of biomass energy production. Mississippi tree growers are “farmers” who replace every tree they harvest by planting new trees. These growing trees consume more CO2 than mature trees of equal mass. New studies have shown that using wood pellets to produce energy contributes much more to decarbonization than burning fossil fuels. In fact, the amount of CO2 released in the use of wood pellets produced in Mississippi is recaptured within one year by our bountiful forests.

Former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, founding partner of BSS Global, is especially encouraged by the growing use of Mississippi forest products for energy production rather than cardboard, paper, construction and furniture production, which have been traditional end uses. “This is especially true in the European markets,” Bryant said. “The movement in European markets from traditional uses of wood products toward using Mississippi wood products to produce sustainable, clean energy is a game changer for Mississippi tree farmers, and this movement is being accelerated by the deforestation restrictions (the European Union Deforestation Regulation) on domestic European producers that are coming online in 2025.”

The European Commission is requiring mandatory due diligence under the EUDR for operators and traders selling and importing wood products into the EU. The regulation was set to begin on Dec. 31, but a one-year compliance extension has been proposed and is likely to pass. Once the EUDR in is effect, operators will need to prove that wood products exported or imported into the EU have not caused deforestation or forest degradation.

Bryant sees the EUDR restrictions as a benefit to Mississippi producers. “Mississippi-grown trees are being replaced as fast as they are harvested, and they are contributing more to decarbonization abroad than ever before. The future for our wood pellet producers is bright, especially given the improving infrastructure of our ubiquitous waterways,” Bryant added.

Improvements in Mississippi’s water transportation facilities are due primarily to developments at Port Pascagoula, one of the largest deepwater ports in the Gulf of Mexico. New Port Director Bo Ethridge is committed to welcoming new projects and businesses, including expanding the port’s role in exporting Mississippi’s wood pellets to Europe and Asia.

I urge each timber farmer and wood product producer in Mississippi to learn how to profit from the fast-growing wood pellet industry, which will add value to the beautiful forests that cover much of our great state.

Author: Ian R.H. Tailyour
Senior Advisor, BSS Global Partners
662-202-4730
ian@bssglobal.com

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