Pellets News

Vencor International has entered into an agreement to produce torrefied wood pellets, or bio-coal. The agreement follows the company's recent announcement that testing performed on its torrefied wood pellets exceeded the strict requirements of its international client. The five-year agreement is with Vega Biofuels, and will see Vencor provide bio-coal to Vega for shipment to Vega's European…
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Portucel S.A, a Portuguese pulp and paper company, will build a wood pellet production plant in South Carolina, US, according to reports. With an annual production capacity of around 460,000 tonnes and costing in the region of $110 million (€88 million) to build, construction on the facility is due to begin next year. It is slated to be up and running towards the end of 2016. Portucel has…
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Enviva Holdings and John Hancock Life Insurance Company have partnered to develop industrial wood pellet production plants and marine export terminals in the southeastern US. Through their affiliates, Enviva Development Holdings, (Enviva) and Hancock Natural Resource Group (HNRG), the companies have committed to invest up to an aggregate of $320 million (€258 million) in equity capital in…
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RusForest, a Swedish forestry company with operations in Russia, has announced the sale of its Arkhangelsk assets in northwest Russia for approximately $31 million (€25 million), including related debt. In a statement, RusForest says it expects to receive a total of approximately $12 million in net cash from the transaction. The company has executed a definitive sale and purchase agreement…
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Lauritzen Bulkers, a dry cargo shipping company, has signed its longest contract ever with US-based wood pellet producer Green Circle Bio Energy involving the transportation of 600,000 tonnes of pellets from the US to the UK and Europe over the next eight years. In 2012, Lauritzen Bulkers signed a similar contract with Green Circle for the transportation of wood pellets from the US to Europe for…
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Helsingin Energia and Vapo have agreed on wood pellet deliveries to the Salmisaari and Hanasaari combined heat and power (CHP) plants. Under the agreement, Helsingin's Salmisaari coal-fired power plant will begin co-firing wood pellets with a ratio of 5-7% by the end of this year. And at the company's Hanasaari power plant, pellets will be co-fired with the same percentage once the pellet…
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Tanac S.A. is building a 400,000 tonne per year, $60 million (€48 million) wood pellet manufacturing plant at its Rio Grande port site in the south of Brazil. Construction began in October and is scheduled for completion at the beginning of 2016. The first pellets are due for export in mid-2016. Under a long-term agreement, Tanac will supply its wood pellets to Drax Power. Tanac says the…
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Rentech, the owner and operator of wood pellet production and wood fibre processing businesses, has closed the previously announced sale of its alternative energy technologies to Sunshine Kaidi New Energy Group. Rentech received a cash payment of $14.4 million (€11.6 million) from Kaidi, which is in addition to $500,000 in cash payments previously received. Kaidi…
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The wood pellet production facility being built by Rentech in Atikokan in the Canadian province of Ontario has commenced start-up. The company says the plant will undergo safety inspections, equipment testing and final commissioning in the upcoming weeks. 'I'm pleased to reach this important milestone at the Atikokan facility,' comments Sean Ebnet, senior VP of Rentech's wood fibre business. 'Our…
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Great American Pellets, a manufacturer of premium hardwood pellets, is selling its facility, real estate and equipment assets at auction on 11 November. The auction will be conducted in conjunction with Comly Auctioneers and Appraisers of Philadelphia and Maas Companies of Rochester, Minneapolis. The facility and associated assets will be sold during an online, lender-owned auction. The auction…
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Wood pellet shipments from the US South to Europe are up 10% from Q4 2013 to Q2 2014, while exports from Canada have declined 25% during the same period. This is according to the latest issue of the North American Wood Fiber Review. During the first half of this year, exports of wood pellets from North America reached just over 2.6 million tonnes (around 1.3 million tonnes in each of the two…
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An explosion at Pinnacle Renewable Energy's wood pellet plant in British Columbia injured three and resulted in around 30 employees being evacuated. The incident happened on 9 October after a fire broke out inside equipment used to dry wood fibre. The plant's built-in suppression system had already extinguished the flames by the time fire fighters arrived. The plant was last inspected on 17 June…
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Enviva Development Holdings, an affiliate of Enviva, and JCE Group Aktiebolag, the sole owner of Green Circle Bio Energy, have signed a contract that will see Enviva acquire all issued and outstanding shares of Green Circle. The acquisition is expected to close by the first quarter of 2015 and is subject to customary closing conditions. Green Circle owns and operates a wood pellet production…
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Viridis Energy has announced its wholly owned subsidiary, Viridis Merchants Canada, has secured an additional 45,000 tonnes of wood pellets per year over the next two years from a western Canadian manufacturer. The additional wood pellets are expected to be available this month and will be sold to Viridis' existing customers in the US and South Korea, which will support a greater expansion…
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