Woodchuck has pioneered an innovative approach to tackling construction and manufacturing wood waste by transforming it into high-quality biomass fuel. Todd Thomas, founder and CEO, tells Bioenergy Insight about the company’s achievements so far.
Todd first encountered the challenge of sourcing clean, consistent wood fuel when NorthStar Clean Energy, the US state of Michigan’s public electric utility, struggled to find enough material to run their biomass facilities at full capacity. This problem was compounded by limited supply, contamination issues and the logistical difficulty of collecting and transporting usable wood waste.
“They were using fossil fuels to fill the gap, which obviously conflicted with their clean energy goals,” said Todd.
He explained that NorthStar planned to double its energy production in the coming decades, which demanded a reliable biomass supply.
“I realised that a huge amount of usable wood waste was just going into landfills – over 95% from construction and manufacturing sectors. That was the opportunity.”
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