Wood pellets production boomed to feed EU demand. It’s come at a cost for Black people in the South

By James Pollard, Julie Watson and Stephen Smith

AP reporters in the South, California and Washington, D.C., independently heard about issues arising from U.S. production of wood pellets to meet European Union demand for renewable energy to replace coal and other fossil fuels.

The Climate and Environment Team brought them together to examine the impacts and growth of the wood pellet Industry booming throughout southern states and expanding into the West. Taking the lead was James Pollard, then in South Carolina, who joined forces with Julie Watson and Terry Chea in California and WDC’s Matthew Daly.

The AP team documented the dramatic growth of the industry, the hefty pollution fines against energy giants running dozens of southern manufacturing plants — as well as ambitious plans for new plants in California and Washington.

Pollard’s documents reporting and interviews uncovered widespread complaints from residents across the South that nearby plants were causing excessive dust, noise and public health problems. Video journalist Stephen Smith and photographer Gerald Herbert shot inside a major pellet plant.

AP visuals told the compelling stories of people who say their lives — and health — worsened when the plant opened. This all-formats story presented consequences of what some touted as a climate solution.

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