One of the world’s greatest renewable vitality gamers could also be deceptive the general public about its product. Earlier this month, Mongabay published a damning report on Enviva, the world’s greatest producer of wooden chips used for biomass vitality, based mostly on allegations from an nameless former worker, who claimed that the corporate is producing its chips in a a lot much less environmentally pleasant manner than its PR supplies declare.

Biomass vitality, the observe of burning wooden to generate energy, is a type of concepts that sounds nice in observe: bushes regrow, in any case, so they need to, theoretically, be a renewable useful resource. Trees, nonetheless, are a key carbon sink; destroying forests to burn vitality may truly do extra hurt than good since bushes take years to regrow again to their full carbon-sequestering potential. It can take more than 90 years, some analyses have proven, to pay again the “carbon debt” incurred by chopping down bushes for gasoline—time we merely don’t have.

Accordingly, pellet producers like Enviva declare that they use scrap wooden from different manufacturing processes that will forestall wide-scale deforestation and preserve the method environment friendly. “Displace Coal. Grow More Trees. Fight Climate Change,” an infinite banner on the entrance web page of the corporate’s web site reads. The web site has an entire part dedicated to the sustainability of its merchandise, in addition to a post on what constitutes “good biomass”—together with biomass “made from low-value wood that is a by-product of a sawmill operation or a planned traditional timber harvest.”

But per Mongabay, Enviva isn’t telling the entire fact about its processes to the general public. According to Mongabay reporter Justin Catanoso, the nameless whistleblower, who reached out to Catanoso whereas nonetheless working at Enviva initially of this 12 months, known as the corporate’s claims about utilizing primarily waste materials for pellets “a joke.”

“We use 100% whole trees in our pellets,” the whistleblower, who resigned from his place as a senior division head of two pellet crops within the spring, advised Mongabay. “We hardly use any waste. Pellet density is critical. You get that from whole trees, not junk.”

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Biomass vitality has exploded in recognition lately, pushed primarily by wood-burning crops within the EU that use pellets produced within the U.S. Southeast, which declare to supply renewable vitality. As Mongabay reviews, Enviva alone has constructed or expanded 5 pellet crops within the area since 2011; final 12 months, Enviva made over $1 billion.

Enviva has been cautious to curate its picture as working to save lots of the setting—which suggests correcting misconceptions concerning the supply of its merchandise. In a 2022 CBS News report, Don Calloway, an Enviva spokesperson, corrected a reporter who talked about the corporate utilizing tree “trunks” for wooden, insisting that the corporate as a substitute makes use of “tops” and “limbs.” But the whistleblower says that the truth is completely different.

“We take giant, whole trees,” he advised Mongabay. “We don’t care where they come from. The notion of sustainably managed forests is nonsense. We can’t get wood into the mills fast enough.”

“We are saddened and take issue by the allegations made by the former employee,” Enviva mentioned in an announcement to Mongabay. “The viewpoints expressed by this employee do not represent Enviva’s values nor are they accurate. While the source’s name was not revealed, we do not believe there is an employee fitting the description of what was shared that would have any credible or expert knowledge about the allegations made.”

Earther reached out to Enviva to see if the corporate had any additional touch upon the Mongabay story. We will replace this story if a spokesperson responds to our requests.

Even if producers made pellets out of the fabric they declare to be using, biomass vitality nonetheless has actual issues. Shipping wooden chips abroad creates large quantities of emissions, making a hefty carbon worth that energy crops don’t account for. And wooden pellet factories within the Southeast have additionally been criticized for finding their crops in Black and brown communities and creating extra air pollution there.

As the Mongabay story reveals, with out additional regulation and industry-wide requirements, “eco-friendly” corporations can proceed to get away with soiled practices.

“We say we’re green. We say we care about the environment,” the whistleblower advised Mongabay whereas nonetheless employed by Enviva. “I get so tired of hearing one thing and seeing another.”