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"Global Wood Based Panel Market to 2017" is a comprehensive publication that enables readers the critical perspectives to be able to evaluate the world market for wood based panels.

The Industrial market report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the Wood and Wood Products market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data, allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth.

Over the last decade wood pellets have seen impressive growth. There are more than a few reasons for the rise of the wood pellets market.

ADAGE and Energy Northwest announced a partnership today that could bring several new power plants to the Pacific Northwest by the end of 2012. The plants would be built by ADAGE, a joint venture by AREVA and Duke Energy, and would bring an estimated 2,000 construction jobs to the state. ADAGE President Reed Wills said at a press conference announcing the partnership that the plants also would create 500 permanent "green" jobs for plant operations and wood waste collection. The plants likely would be located in forested areas of western Washington. AREVA President Jacques Besnainou said the plants would burn wood waste, such as bark or tree branches stripped from lumber, to generate power. Wood waste is a renewable, carbon-neutral source that fits the state's clean energy goals, he said.

Since 1995, West Palm Beach-based Florida Crystals Corp. has been operating the largest biomass-to-electricity facility in North America, the Okeelanta Co-Generation Plant next to its sugar mill and refinery plant south of South Bay. The plant uses 850,000 tons of sugar cane residue known as bagasse and 900,000 tons of clean wood material from construction and yard wastes to produce 140 net megawatts of electricity each year. The power is sold to Florida Power & Light Co. to provide electricity to 58,000 homes, said Florida Crystals spokesman Gaston Cantens.

Vermont's four largest electric utilities believe the state needs new generating plants to replace at least some of the power they buy from outside sources. As VPR's Ross Sneyd reports, the companies say the plants should be powered by renewable energy, such as wood or wind.

2009 brings some new incentives for homeowners to adopt energy efficiency from both state and federal sources. The Wall Street Journal reported last week on several of these, including new provisions for tax credits in solar, small wind, and biomass stoves (those burning wood pellets or corn). In addition, this year, both solar and wind residential tax credits can be claimed against the alternative minimum tax. Improvements to weatherize your home could also qualify for an energy efficiency tax credit of up to $500. There are also new credits for upgrading your furnace, boilers, heat pumps, and water heaters. Read more at WSJ.com: http://tinyurl.com/93n535 Link to original post

More than 100,000 people attend; a testament to the popularity of sustainable building and renewable energy in the region. by Michael Fell Wels, Upper Austria [RenewableEnergyWorld.com] Last week saw the return of the World Sustainable Energy Days conference which is held every year in Wels, Upper Austria. Taking place over three days (plus a day of site visits), the conference has three main streams: the European Pellet Conference, the European Energy Efficiency Conference and Regional Biomass Action Plans. Austria is an apt location for the conference - along with Sweden it is well known as one of Europe's biggest users of pellet technology - and as the final remnants of this year's snow melted away it is plain to see why. With cold winters and real enthusiasm for efficient and sustainable building, the demand for renewable heat is strong. The country is also highly forested, providing ample raw material for pellet production in the form of sawdust and wood shavings from sawmills (along with other biomass waste).

Our story of energy begins when humans discovered the secret of fire. We burned wood and brush to protect ourselves from predators, cook food, and, later, to survive the ice age. In 12th-century Europe, with the forests fast disappearing, we started burning the strange black stones we called coal. Later, we used coal to produce steam, launching the Industrial Revolution.