Mill Residue Availability in the Inland Empire

Mill residue from the lumber and plywood industry is an important source of energy. In addition to being the major source of wood fiber for the Inland Empire’s substantial pulp and paper and reconstituted board industry, mill residue is used to dry wood products and provide heat. Facilities also exist in the Inland Empire to generate over 150 megawatts of electricity using wood. Although demand for mill residue in the region has increased greatly in the last 5 years, considerable interest still exists to expand the use of mill residue to both produce power and manufacture products. In this article the authors analyze the mill residue supply situation in the major timber producing regions of Idaho, Montana, and eastern Washington. Demand is examined based on the needs of facilities currently utilizing wood fiber residue from lumber and plywood manufacture. The volume available annually was estimated based on projected lumber and plywood output. Three levels of supply were examined corresponding to a year of high, average, and low demand for lumber and wood products. Given current demand, it appears that surpluses of mill residue would exist in years of high and average lumber production. However, substantial deficits of all types could develop in years of lower than average lumber production. Users should therefore expect strong competition for mill residue in years with below average lumber production.

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