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  • NEWS FEATURE

How ‘green’ electricity from wood harms the planet — and people

Many nations have embraced burning wood pellets to produce electricity — under the assumption that it is carbon neutral. But research shows this approach can boost greenhouse-gas emissions and threaten the health of local communities.
By
  1. Melba Newsome

    1. Melba Newsome is a freelance journalist in Charlotte, North Carolina.

A red lorry carrying logs drives past a biomass wood pellet production plant in North Carolina

A truck takes wood to an Enviva wood-pellet plant in Garysburg, North Carolina. Credit: Mehmet Demirci/Redux/eyevine

The town of Hamlet, North Carolina, seemed to hit the jackpot in September 2014. After the community had endured decades of economic despair and high poverty rates, the world’s largest producer of wood-based energy, Enviva Biomass, announced plans to open a major facility nearby that would turn wood into dense pellets that can be used as fuel. The project promised 80 well-paying jobs for residents in Hamlet and the surrounding area. It seemed like a win for both local people and the planet.

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Nature 632, 726-728 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02676-z

Melba Newsome has a fellowship from the Alicia Patterson foundation, which provided support for this story.

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