Golden State Natural Resources (GSNR), a California nonprofit that focuses on rural economic development, has canceled plans to build two industrial-scale wood pellet plants in the state. The organization cited weakening market conditions and pushback from locals as the drivers of their decision. Conservation groups are hailing the move as a win for forests and communities. The company planned to source wood from public and private forest land in a 161-kilometer (100-mile) radius of each proposed plant. Their stated aim was to reduce overgrown vegetation and reduce fire risk. The two pellet plants would have produced roughly 1 million tons of pellets annually for use as biomass energy, mostly for export markets. However, demand for pellets has significantly declined recently. In December 2024, South Korea abruptly announced it would end subsidies for new biomass projects starting in January 2025 and that it would phase down subsidies for power plants using imported forest biomass fuel. In February, the U.K. government announced it would cut in half the subsidies received by a controversial wood-burning power station. In response to overseas market shifts for wood pellets, GSNR announced it will instead explore the domestic market for wood chips. “GSNR’s reduced-scale project not only increases forest resiliency, but directly supports sustainable biomass use innovation in accordance with state and federal goals,” GSNR President Patrick Blacklock said in a press release. Biomass proponents, including GSNR, say thinning forests to make wood pellets is a sustainable, climate-friendly fire-resiliency option because forests can be replanted. However, Rita…This article was originally published on Mongabay