School supplies secure despite wood pellet shortage

HIGHLAND Council has said a current Europe-wide shortage of wood pellets will not affect schools in Lochaber which have biomass heating systems installed, after sufficient supplies were secured.

A dozen schools and other council properties across Lochaber have biomass heating systems. However, a local authority spokesperson assured the Lochaber Times: ‘The council has secured fuel supplies of pellet and chips from our heating contractor and is unaffected by any shortage.’

Schools and other council premises in Lochaber which have biomass heating systems installed are Arisaig Primary School, Caol Community Campus, Charles Kennedy Building, Eigg Primary School, Fort William Gaelic Primary School, Inverlochy Primary School, Invernevis House Resource Centre, Lochaber High School, Lochaber Leisure Centre, Lochaline Primary School, Lochyside RC Primary School and Lundavra Primary School.

According to the UK Pellet Council, January saw the UK experiencing large-scale shortages across the market, in particular with bagged wood pellets, with most bagged suppliers providing 50 per cent or less of their typical winter volumes. The Europe-wide shortage of wood fibre, from which pellets are made, has severely restricted supply and massively increased the cost of pellets at point of manufacture.

The key reasons for the shortages are unseasonably warm and wet weather, including flooding, in many European forests, causing timber operations to be halted. Timber contractors rely on frozen ground to support their heavy machinery in these the forests, otherwise the equipment gets bogged down. And with the UK being a net importer of pellets, it is causing shortages of bagged pellets here.

One Ballachulish resident said she had been informed there would be no more bagged pellets available from her usual supplier until April and was advised to try elsewhere. ‘We were then told by someone else we’d have to order a minimum of 100 bags at a time from a supplier in Ireland and we just don’t have the space to store that much,’ she said.

‘It might be alright for the council and other users of pellets in bulk but what are ordinary householders meant to do – freeze?’

Describing the situation as a ‘perfect storm for the pellet market’ this year, the UK Pellet Council says this winter has also seen a number of new biomass-fuelled power stations in Europe come online, creating created significant demand for the same raw material.