“We are currently out of stock and have no known restocking date for the entire wood pellet range. Unfortunately, we cannot respond to your request. » This is the message that has been displayed since the end of July on the Brazeco websitea firewood supplier with more than eighty pick-up points in France. “This is the first time there has been a shortage. Almost all of our competitors are in the same situation”says Benjamin Dubourg, general manager of the company created in 2007. “Customers usually restock from July. This year, the first orders fell in April”he points out.
Requirement “abnormally high” into wood pellets (or pellets) – sticks resulting from the compaction of sawdust and shavings – in anticipation of the cold season, and against a backdrop of fears of energy shortages, could lead to a “supply deficit of 5 to 15%” according to the severity of the winter, warned in a press release, Friday, August 26, the French Federation of fuels, fuels and heating (FF3C). The market, which was 1.8 million tonnes in winter 2020-2021 and 2 million tonnes last winter, is estimated at 2.4 million tonnes for next winter, according to the FF3C.
Over the past twenty years, sales of pellet stoves have grown dramatically. “The number of devices installed has increased from 5,000 in 2003 to 180,000 in 2021”explains Eric Vial, General Delegate of Propelletthe national association of professionals in the sector. “Demand really took off from 2013 (90,000 stoves sold) with the implementation of significant state aid”he adds.
In the first quarter of 2022 alone, the system MaPrimeRénov’ – aimed at financing energy renovation works – has helped support the installation of more than 38,000 pellet stoves, with an average aid of around 3,600 euros, according to the National Housing Agency (ANAH). It is also possible to benefit from a Reduced rate VAT (at 5.5%) and aid granted under the energy saving certificates (CEE).
Beyond its reduced acquisition cost, this mode of heating works thanks to an inexpensive fuel. ” There is no photo “, assures Karine, 43, digital project manager in Bourges, in the Cher. She and her husband, a computer engineer, equipped their 120 square meter house with a pellet stove in the spring of 2018. “By ecological conviction and also, we are not going to lie, for the sake of savings”, she acknowledges. Their heating bill went from 280 euros monthly over the twelve months of the year to 200 euros monthly “only from September-October to March-April”.
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