If plans remain on track, Maine will begin to ship wood chips to Europe next year. The wood chips will be used to kill pests.

In Eastport and Stockton Springs companies are moving forward to treat wood with heat after the wood chips are loaded into the hulls of chip carriers. Wood pellets and chips from the U.S. to Europe have been soaring in recent years exceeding $684 million last year but most of it comes from the Southeast.

New markets for Maine wood pellets would be welcome because of the ongoing decline in Maine's paper and biomass power industries.

 

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