In Creuse, an individual manufactures his wood pellets using a machine imported from abroad. Objective: to face the energy crisis and the surge in raw materials. Original article published on January 13, 2023.
In Blessac in Creuse, Jean-Christophe Jagaille has started manufacturing wood pellets in order to save money. He even started importing machinery from abroad.
Seven handfuls of sawdust, a handful of flour, add to this a trickle of water and you get the recipe for making homemade heating pellets. This is the challenge that this Creusois set himself in the face of soaring raw material prices.
“Here, in this case, it’s softwood sawdust, wet, you can see it. But it’s very sticky, because there’s resin in it. Which makes it quite sticky, and therefore it will more easily clog in the press”, explains Jean-Christophe Jagaille.
Jean-Christophe invested 1,900 euros in this machine which comes straight from China. Originally designed to make pellets for animal feed, it can produce 200 pounds per hour.
“There, that’s what we did in 5 -10 minutes”, shows the Creusois. “They are cooling, we see that in terms of consistency compared to those we buy, we are on the same diameter. If we have a stove that will take a pellet or two, we will perhaps consume be a little more, but in the end, we will be able to heat ourselves for less”, he adds.
About twenty kilometers away, in Vaurousset, another couple is experimenting with the same machine with a view to a potential acquisition. With their homemade pellets, they heat their tropical greenhouse, and save money.
“There, we would be at less than 2 euros per bag, instead of 14.90 in some stores, so it still makes a hell of a difference! It’s still not bad for the moment! For the first time… I think we can do something good.” welcome Mickael Pommereul and Marie-Alizée Mezeix, market gardeners.
A solution that looks promising: the couple would drop their monthly bill from 300 to around 30 euros.
