An accomplished entrepreneur focused on real estate, Richard deGorter serves as a manager at Crescent Development Partners, LLC, in Aldie, Virginia. In addition, Richard deGorter manages Biofuels Development Partners, LLC, a company that produces carbon-neutral wood pellets for heat and energy production.
In an effort to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy producers throughout the U.K. and continental Europe are adapting their coal-fired power plants so that they can burn wood pellets. European companies have invested billions of dollars to this end, and wood pellet manufacturing in the United States has risen sharply in recent years to meet the growing demand for the product overseas.
The wood pellet industry saw its first major boost in 2012, when the U.K.’s Department of Energy and Climate Change advised utility companies to switch from coal to wood biomass in order to meet the European Union’s mandated reduction in GHG emissions. Soon after, wood pellet exports from the U.S. nearly doubled, and wood pellet manufacturers began popping up throughout southeastern states.
Today, the market for wood pellets continues to grow and will likely do so for at least another decade. The U.K. continues to be the top importer of pellets produced in the USA, but Belgium comes in second with a large market share that has recently increased by 67 percent and annual wood pellet demand in both Japan and South Korea is projected to exceed 10 million metric tonnes.
In an effort to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy producers throughout the U.K. and continental Europe are adapting their coal-fired power plants so that they can burn wood pellets. European companies have invested billions of dollars to this end, and wood pellet manufacturing in the United States has risen sharply in recent years to meet the growing demand for the product overseas.
The wood pellet industry saw its first major boost in 2012, when the U.K.’s Department of Energy and Climate Change advised utility companies to switch from coal to wood biomass in order to meet the European Union’s mandated reduction in GHG emissions. Soon after, wood pellet exports from the U.S. nearly doubled, and wood pellet manufacturers began popping up throughout southeastern states.
Today, the market for wood pellets continues to grow and will likely do so for at least another decade. The U.K. continues to be the top importer of pellets produced in the USA, but Belgium comes in second with a large market share that has recently increased by 67 percent and annual wood pellet demand in both Japan and South Korea is projected to exceed 10 million metric tonnes.