Nord Stream, a pair of natural gas pipelines running between Russia and Europe, seems to be in danger. Over the past few weeks, these pipelines have reported multiple leaks.
Nord Stream 1, the 760 miles long underwater natural gas pipeline, starts from Vyborg in Russia and reaches Northeastern Germany passing through the Baltic Sea.
Nord Stream 2 is a recently laid pipeline that runs between Ust-Lunga, Russia, and Germany beneath the Baltic Sea. It runs alongside Nord Stream 1.
The Russian energy giant Gazprom owns most of this gas pipeline. It is a state-owned energy company having headquarters in Saint Petersburg’s Lakhta Center.
Sweden and Denmark reported gas leaks in both pipelines. On the 29th of September 2022, the Sweden coast guard found a massive leakage in Nord Stream pipelines.
Denmark reported a similar incident. The Danish military released video footage of a gas leak near Bornholm Island. The leakage was so intense that it made gas bubbles about ½ mile broad.
These incidents have increased the tension across the world, especially in Europe. Since the war between Russia and Ukraine is still ongoing, these incidents are being assumed to be deliberate acts.
Since several leaks and explosions occurred on the same day, investigative agencies believe that it could be a sabotage attempt. Indeed, the leakage in these gas pipelines has become the cause of conflict between Europe and Russia.
Mykhaylo Podolyak, the Ukrainian presidential adviser, alleged that the Nord Stream gas leak is a terrorist attack planned by Russia.
According to Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish Prime Minister, it could be Russia’s next escalation step toward Ukraine. Apart from this, Nato calls this incident careless acts of sabotage.
Since Europe has imposed several financial sanctions on Russia in response to their military action against Ukraine, the Nord Stream leakage is seen as retaliation by the European world.
On the other side, Russia rejects these accusations and calls them absurd. They say why they would attack their pipeline. According to the Russian foreign ministry, these blasts and leakage happened in an area controlled by American intelligence.
While allegations are from both sides, Russia has indeed limited its energy export to Europe after the sanctions. And it has raised tension in Germany and other European countries. After all, the EU is dependent on Moscow for energy.
According to reports, both Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines are not transferring gas at present. According to Russia, Nord Stream 1 is under maintenance. While Nord Stream 2 was shut down after Russia invaded Ukraine.
As a result of this energy crisis, Germany and other European nations have started using wood for heating. After all, the cost of heating fuel has increased dramatically.
Since winters are approaching, people will rely on biomass energy sources for house heating in the absence of Russian gas. The nuclear plants in Germany are about to be set down. Already, several energy providers have ceased operations. The government has been issuing blackout warnings regularly.
According to the report of Fox Business, businesses and homeowners in Europe are switching to biomass energy sources for heating homes. Therefore, the demand for wood pellets has increased as well.
The price of firewood and wood pellets is on the rise in Europe. If you check the current wood pellet price in Europe, you will notice that it has been increasing almost every day.
The average pellet price in Germany is about €682.98/t. It is more than double the last year.
If we talk about Germany specifically, the cost of wood pellets has increased by 133.3%.
In addition to Germany, Austria is also observing the growing demand for firewood and wood pellets.
People have started using the wood-fired heating system. Even before the war, the percentage of the wood heating system had amplified to about 38% in 2021.
However, because the supply of wood pellets from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus to Western Europe has been cut off, the price of pellets for heating stoves has increased dramatically.
In April 2022, the European Union itself imposed a ban on the import of wood pellets from Russia and Belarus. They did it in response to their invasion of Ukraine. People in Europe now rely on American wood pellets, which are breaking the banks.
A report published in Biomass magazine confirms that the demand for wood pellets will reach a high in 2022. According to an estimate, the European Union requires about 25.8 million metric wood pellets in 2022. This demand exceeds available domestic production.
If you can start a pellet-making business, you can fill this gap and make a huge margin of profit. During this emergency, you can meet the demands of European residents looking for an affordable home heating solution. If you start it now, you are surely going to be profitable.
If you can not make a massive investment in a wood pellet machine, begin at a low level. You can buy a TCPEL pellet machine that offers the advantages of both flat die and horizontal die pellet mills.
The best thing about this machine is that it can process several types of raw materials. Apart from wood, it can process crop straws, rice/sunflower husks, fruit shells, barks, and more.
At TCPEL, we have several types of pellet machine models. You can choose them as per the demand of your customers.
For instance, our TCZL560 biomass pellet machine can produce between 1 to 1.5 t pellets per hour. It comes with a motor of 90kw and a vertical ring die. Every year, we sell about 200 sets of this biomass pellet machine.
We also have TCZL 700 pellet-making machine. It lets you make about two tones of pellet per hour. It has 160kw of the motor, making it powerful enough to process a wide range of raw materials.
If you want to make 3 tonnes or more pellets per hour, you can buy our TCZL 850 pellet mills. It is designed for a pellet production plant. Later on, with the growth of your business, you can set up the complete production line.
All-in-all, we can say it is an excellent time to start a pellet-making business. You can not only meet the needs of your people but also benefit financially from it.