In January 2012, the South Korean government introduced the Renewable Portfolio Standard, which requires 14 energy companies to source an increasing proportion of their electricity from renewable energy (increasing from 4% in 2017 to 10% by 2023), with penalties imposed on companies that fail to comply. In 2015, South Korea launched a national emissions trading scheme that places a cap on total GHG emissions by 525 companies accounting for 68% of South Korea's GHG emissions.

In order to comply with these requirements and/or create offset credits that can be traded with other companies, a number of South Korean power generators have indicated that they are considering initiatives that will increase potential demand for industrial wood pellets. Several power generators that currently have the capacity to co-fire biomass with coal have announced plans to increase their use of biomass. In other cases, power generators are considering building biomass dedicated facilities or converting existing coal facilities to dedicated biomass facilities. Hawkins Wright forecasts that industrial wood pellet potential demand in South Korea will increase from 1.7 million MT to 4.1 million MT by 2021 and 5.0 million MT by 2026.

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  United Kingdom >>
The driving force behind growth in demand for industrial wood pellets in the U.K. is the Climate Change Act, which requires the U.K. government... More >>

  European Union (excluding the U.K.) >>
The primary policy that is driving the industrial wood pellet market in Europe is the Renewable Energy Directive, which sets binding targets on the... More >>

  Japan >>
Japan is currently the fastest growing industrial wood pellet market in Asia. The Japanese government has stated that it remains committed to... More >>

  South Korea >>
In January 2012, the South Korean government introduced the Renewable Portfolio Standard, which requires 14 energy companies to source an increasing... More >>

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