The use of biomass has become extremely important for the production of clean energy from renewable sources. This is due to the continuously increased need for energy, to the possible depletion of conventional fossil fuels in the near future, and also to the regulations of European Union on the need to reduce significantly the emissions of greenhouse gases. This paper presents a synthesis on the raw materials used for pellets production, some of the important characteristics of pellets (density, ash content and heating power), and also data on the status of pellets production and consumption in different countries. Latest reported data show that the European Union is the biggest wood pellets producer globally, with a production of 13.5 million tonnes in 2014. Romania’s pellets production in 2014 was of 740000 tonnes, and estimations are that in 2020 it will exceed 1.2 million tonnes
