PORTLAND, Maine (AP) _ Maine will begin shipping wood chips to Europe next year if plans remain on track for two methods of treating the wood with heat to kill pests.
In Eastport, the port authority has been working with others to develop a system of heating the wood after it's loaded into the hulls of chip carriers. Another company in Stockton Springs is moving forward with facility to treat wood.
The Portland Press Herald reports that 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.
The newspaper said opening new markets for Maine wood pellets would be welcome because of the ongoing decline in Maine's paper and biomass power industries.