Raising the question, is Drax* frontrunning the supply of pulp and pellets?
From SupplyChainDive, September 30:
Dive Brief:....MUCH MOREDive Insight:
- Some big box stores are again limiting how much toilet paper and other paper products customers can buy as suppliers struggle to overcome logistical hurdles in exporting raw materials.
- Costco reinstated purchasing limits on key products including bath tissues and roll towels amid an uptick in demand, CFO Richard Galanti said on an earnings call last Thursday. Sam's Club also said on its website "certain items like paper products" may only be available "in limited quantites" due to high demand.
- The restrictions come as supply chain bottlenecks disrupt the flow of wood pulp, the raw material used in toilet paper and other goods. Suzano, the world's largest wood pulp supplier, said it expects exports will be delayed into the next quarter due to port congestion and a lack of shipping containers.
As suppliers contend with logistical challenges, retailers like Costco and Sam’s Club are taking steps to prevent customers from hoarding and creating another demand-induced shortage."Stores like Costco are being proactive," said Ronalds Gonzalez, co-director of the Tissue Pack Innovation Lab at North Carolina State University. "But there's no reason for shortages to happen as long as shoppers don't buy more than they need."
The tissue supply chain has historically been stable and predictible, said Gonzalez. But wild swings in demand have now left retailers and producers scrambling to keep up. Manufacturers like Procter & Gamble and Georgia Pacific increased capacity after a wave of panic buying at the start of the pandemic, only to see demand plummet as customers worked their way through their stockpiles....
*Drax is the largest power plant in Britain at just under 4 megawatts capacity and has been converted from coal to biomass-and-coal to biomass base load with natural gas peakers.
Some of our previous looks at wood-fired electricity in Europe:
Back to the Future: "UK’s Renewable Energy Targets Drive Increases in U.S. Wood Pellet Exports"
Hey Gang, Want To Participate In Britain's Back-to-the-Future "We Burn Wood" Energy Program? (EVA)
"What's Replacing Coal In Europe? Imported Wood"
Bonfire of the Subsidies: Europe Returns to Early Stone Age Fuel as Putin Mocks
Mocking Europe's Energy Policy: "Putin invites Europeans to Siberia for firewood"
If interested see also the Guardian, March 31 "Drax to double wood pellet production with biomass firm purchase".
