Pellet prices 2023: Forecast & price development for wood pellets

Pellets made of leaves and wood – what you have to consider

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Berlin.

• Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, energy prices in Germany have risen sharply
• Gas and oil are particularly expensive
• Wood pellets are an alternative – but their price has also changed
• How have pellet prices developed and what are the forecasts?

Energy prices have exploded in Germany in 2022. At times, gas and oil were more expensive than ever before, which is why many people are looking for alternative sources of energy. One possibility: wood pellets. After all, there are already around 650,000 pellet heating systems in Germany – and the trend is rising. But even heating with wood is not spared from the high prices on the energy market. We show how the pellet prices arise, how they have developed and what the forecasts are for 2023. Also read: Heating without gas and oil – What can radiators, fan heaters and the like do?

Wood pellets – what is that actually?

Heating with leftovers? With wood pellets it works. They consist largely of waste from sawmills and unusable industrial wood. All this is pressed in special machines into rod-shaped pellets, which usually have a maximum diameter of 25 millimeters. The wood pellets are then burned in private heating systems or in power plants to generate energy.

The advantage over conventional wood heating is that the pellets – similar to gas or oil – are automatically fed into the oven and burned there. It is therefore not necessary to add wood regularly. When transporting the pellets, however, a noise can be made that disturbs some people.

Heating with wood: This is how the pellet prices arise

The fact that wood pellets are partly made from waste and leftovers is also reflected in the price: In order to generate one kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy, owners of a pellet heating system have to pay around 1.5 cents less for the energy source than for gas .

But pellet prices have also risen sharply as a result of the current crisis. Reasons are those increased by the war in Ukraine energy costs, which also affect pellet production. In addition, demand has increased because more people want to do without fossil fuels. That also drives up the price.

Pellet prices from May 1st: The current price per tonne of pellets

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Development of pellet prices

The Price for wood pellets has long been low. At the beginning of 2022, the cost of a tonne of pellets was around 350 euros. However, as a result of the Ukraine war, prices – similar to other energy sources – went up steeply. Since the summer, however, there has been a clear decline again. The data in our table is based on information from “Heizpellets24”.

Date	Pellet price per ton
January 1, 2022	355.95 euros
February 1, 2022	353.43 euros
March 1, 2022	347.11 euros
April 1, 2022	343.93 euros
May 1, 2022	366.50 euros
June 1, 2022	403.79 euros
July 1, 2022	468.32 euros
August 1, 2022	719.67 euros
September 1, 2022	795.18 euros
October 1, 2022	744.80 euros
November 1, 2022	632.10 euros
December 1, 2022	513.65 euros
January 1, 2023	495.04 euros

Pellet prices: What are the forecasts for 2023?

No one can predict with certainty how energy prices will develop in the coming months. There is even an additional problem with the pellet prices: Should inflation cause major economic problems, the demand for wood – for example for the construction industry – will also decrease. This will fall into the sawmills less leftovers that can be processed into pellets.

Nevertheless, Martin Bentele from the German Energy Wood and Pellet Association (DEPV) gives the all-clear: He does not expect a return to the extremely low prices for which wood pellets were offered before the crisis. However, he does not fear another price explosion either. According to him, the pellet prices per ton should level out between 400 and 500 euros in the long run.

Despite high pellet prices: is it worth switching?

Whether the switch to a pellet heating worth it depends on many different factors. We have summarized the most important advantages and disadvantages for you.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Pellets are still cheaper compared to fossil fuels, even though the price of pellets has increased. In addition, with wood no CO2-Tax due	At around 20,000 euros, the acquisition costs for a pellet heating system are around twice as high as for an oil or gas heating system. However, part of this can be covered by subsidies.
Wood is a renewable raw material. Those who switch make themselves independent of fossil fuels.	Even if wood grows back: A pellet heating system is not emission-free. Alternatives such as geothermal energy have a significantly better climate balance.
In contrast to gas, pellet heating does not require a connection to the mains.	Pellets require significantly more space for storage than heating oil. In addition, their transport from storage to the boiler can cause noise.
	A pellet heater is a bit more work than most alternatives as the ash pan needs to be emptied regularly.

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Updated: Thursday, 05/04/2023, 08:18

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