A regional assessment of wood resource sustainability and potential economic impact of the wood pellet market in the U.S. South

Abstract The ability to secure financing and local government support for construction of wood pellet facilities can be enhanced by articulating the economic benefits of these production facilities. This analysis explains how local economies can benefit from wood pellet manufacturing by expressing the economic multiplier effect of wood pellet plant operations in terms of employment, wages and salaries, and value-added in each of the 13 states in the U.S. South. Input-output analysis is conducted using the IMPLAN software and 2012 data. The analysis examines how direct effects (e.g., plant operation expenditures and employment) generate additional indirect effects (e.g., purchases by supporting industries and their employees) and induced effects (e.g., household spending by direct and indirect employees) that result in a total effect or cumulative benefit to the local economy. Moreover, this study also assesses wood fiber availability and development potential of wood pellet mills in each U.S. South state based on the annual pulpwood growth and removal trends. This information can be used to communicate the wider benefit to an economy that results from the establishment of a wood pellet facility.