North American exports of wood pellets to Europe continued to increase in the third quarter of 2012, hitting a record 860,000 tons.

U.S. wood pellet exports grew, outpacing Canada's volume this year to make it the global leader. Expansion and investment in wood pellet capacity in the U.S. South will nearly quadruple export volumes by 2015.

The expansion of wood pellet capacity in the US South the past few years has enabled the US to export more pellets than Canada, making the US the largest exporter in the world. With continued investments throughout southern US, export volumes are forecast to increase from an estimated 1.5 million tons in 2012 to 5.7 million tons in 2015, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review.

Resolute Forest Products (NYSE: RFP) (TSX: RFP) will build a $10M industrial wood pellet plant next to its Thunder Bay sawmill, to supply 45,000 metric tons of pellets annually to Ontario Power Generation.

Resolute Forest Products (NYSE: RFP) (TSX: RFP) plans to build an industrial wood pellet plant that will convert a currently underutilized residual material into a reliable source of renewable energy.