Waiting two months to get a new stove, but the worst is yet to come. And hoarding pellets in anticipation of the cold season is of no use, not only because prices are already skyrocketing, but also because supplies are scarce.
As the daily news focuses on the extraordinary heat, a time bomb is already ticking that will explode once temperatures drop. There are many Friulian families who heat their homes with wood-burning fireplaces or pellet stoves, and many others are considering buying for fear of a methane gas rationing that could take place next winter.
As a result, the demand for native crops and biomass fuels has exploded, causing difficulties for the local production system. He confirms it Marco palaces, manager of the homonymous company in Pordenone, together with his sister Chiara and parents Ruben and Lucilla. Company that is also involved in the national and international associations of manufacturers of biomass heating devices.
What’s happening? “Fear of an excessive increase in heating costs from the Ukraine conflict has sparked a race for alternative gas sources such as wood and pellet stoves. A race that, however, generates an excess of demand for the industrial system that cannot be escaped today, despite the fact that Italy is the leader in Europe, producing 65-70% of the plants sold on the continent.
How much has the demand for stoves grown? “In the first five months of the year by 30 percent. Currently you have to wait about two months to have a stove. And demand will increase, since these are highly flavored products: half of sales are made in the last four months of the year.
Are factories suffering? “Yes, and not just because of the exploding demand. In fact, we too are suffering from the lack of workers, from the increase in the price of raw materials and the increased energy prices. In addition, both absences due to Covid positivity and the excessive heat of these weeks weigh, making daily activity tiring.
The problem doesn’t stop with the machines, however. What do we feed them next winter? “In this case, the problem is structural. On the other hand, if Italy is a large producer of stoves, it is very dependent on imports from abroad for pellets. With an annual consumption of 3 million tons, we produce less than 700,000. The problem this year is that 20% of the pellets consumed in Italy come from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, sources that, as you can imagine, are no longer available due to the war and the embargo. In addition, other European countries we source pellets from, such as France and Germany, have stopped exporting to ensure sufficient supplies for their home market.
What price has the pellet reached today? “The price is between 8 and 16 euros per fifteen-kilogram sack.”
Then what do you suggest us? “It’s important not to panic. In general, the keyword for heating your home must be ‘diversification’. The decision to integrate your home’s heating system must be weighed up, choosing the right solution and bearing in mind that the benefits will continue to exist for years to come. A hasty decision dictated by contingency could lead you to choose an unsuitable product. You can decide to integrate other heating systems by evaluating your needs and the characteristics of the house. Biomass generators have the advantage of being perfectly integrated with other heating systems such as gas boilers or heat pumps: in this area there are different solutions for every need”.
How will we warm up next winter? This question snakes its way through our homes because there are so many unknowns weighing on our heating systems. Among the possibilities, in addition to the possibility of replacing Russian gas with supplies from other countries, as confirmed by the agreement recently signed between Italy and Algeria, many think “as it once was”, that is, with wood or its more modern form. the pellet.
“The demand for firewood is certainly increasing, as is the price,” he says Karl Piedmont, President of Legno Servizi Foresty Cluster Fvg. “In addition to the war in Ukraine, the export bans in Serbia, Bosnia and Hungary are also driving up prices. Currently, between 250 and 300,000 cubic meters of wood are produced annually in our region, of which firewood is the remaining part of the supply chain. In other words, chopped wood is first used for construction and other industries like paper and packaging, and only the rest is used for stoves and fireplaces. For comparison: neighboring Slovenia produces 6 million cubic meters in one year”.
“In Fvg you could easily reach half a million cubic meters, but change a few things. To cope with demand and price increases, we must aim to improve the forest that cannot be abandoned. In Friuli Venezia Giulia most of the forest areas (about 60%) are owned by private individuals, while there are many obstacles and bureaucratic delays for the use of public land.
“That’s why the full potential of the area has not yet been exhausted. I believe that more active management of forest areas is the way forward, because there are already many structured and modern companies that can increase timber production and there is no shortage of labor in the industry.