Organizers of the ninth Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo have released the first wave of speakers for the event, which will be held April 14-15, 2026 at the Omni Atlanta Hotel at Centennial Park in Atlanta, Ga.

Held every other year, the Wood Bio Conference is hosted by Wood Bioenergy magazine.

“A ton is happening in the wood-to-energy sector worldwide,” comments Rich Donnell, co-chairman of the conference and editor-in-chief of Wood Bioenergy. “Since our last conference in 2024, Enviva has been ‘born again’ so to speak, but at the same time the United Kingdom has constrained Drax’s pellet-fired electricity capabilities. Momentum continues to grow for biochar and torrefied pellets as a complement to coal-firing, especially with a coal-friendly U.S. president. And the relevance of the industry has expanded into climate solutions.”

Speakers signing on include Scott Bax, executive vice president & chief operating officer at Enviva. After experiencing a bankruptcy in the spring of 2024, Enviva appears to have righted the ship. Bax is highly respected worldwide for his work in the wood-to-energy industry, including leadership roles with Pinnacle Renewable Energy, Peak Renewables and CM Biomass.

Also on tap is Bill Strauss, president of FutureMetrics, and the world’s most renown consultant to the industry. Strauss is the foremost advocate for repurposing U.S. coal-fueled power stations to use sustainably sourced wood pellets, which is more important than ever as UK wood pellet imports decline and the need for green power to support massive new datacenters increases.

Amanda Lang, president & COO of Forisk Consulting, is an expert on timber market dynamics and how these impact wood demand and timber supply moving forward.

Taylor Fitts is vice president, communications and external affairs for the U.S. Industrial Pellet Assn. (USIPA). The U.S. wood pellet industry is entering a new chapter, expanding its relevance from a reliable renewable fuel to a strategic climate solution across energy, industry, and carbon removal value chains.

Harold Arnold, president of Fram Renewable Fuels, which operates industrial wood pellet facilities in the Southeast, once again provides a big-picture view of the global wood-to-energy industry, including a renewed and more practical emphasis on torrefaction.

Co-Chairman Donnell says a second wave of speakers will be announced soon, and that as usual the conference will include sessions on new equipment and technologies that serve the wood-to-energy industry.

Approximately 25 speakers and 50 exhibitors participate in the conference, which immediately precedes the Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE), which is hosted by Panel World magazine.

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