Pinnacle Renewable Energy has entered into an extension of a long-term, take-or-pay off-take contract with Mitsubishi Corporation in Japan. Under the terms of the extension, Pinnacle will supply 80,000-90,000 tonnes of per annum of industrial wood pellets to Mitsubishi, beginning in the first quarter of 2023. The pellets will be used by a biomass power generation facility... [Read More]

A biomass pellet mill facility will be built on Australia’s Kangaroo Island, thanks to a $5.5 million (€3.4 million) bushfire recovery grant. Over the past 12 months, Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers (KIPT) has worked to secure diversified markets for dry product – logs produced from forests that have been damaged by bushfire, beyond the tolerance of traditional... [Read More]

Arkansas-based Highland Pellets has entered into a $135 million (€111 million) strategic capital partnership with Orion Energy Partners to fund the expansion and upgrade of its wood pellet facility in Pine Bluff. The partnership will also provide capital for additional long-term growth initiatives at the facility. The plant is supported by a long-term contract... [Read More]

Pellet production has started at Pinnacle Renewable Energy’s new facility in Alberta, Canada. Pinnacle owns 50% of the new facility in High Level and 50% is owned by Tolko Industries through a limited partnership. The High Level mill further diversifies the company’s supply base using high-quality wood fibre sourced primarily from Tolko’s sawmill in the area. The... [Read More]

Enviva's first shipment of sustainable wood pellets is on its way from Port Panama City, Florida, to Japan’s Iwakuni Port. The first shipment carried approximately 28,000 tonnes of wood pellets made from low-value wood sourced in the US Southeast. By using sustainable pellets instead of coal, Japan’s heat and power producers can reduce carbon emissions by more... [Read More]

Operations at Pinnacle Renewable energy’s facility in Houston, British Columbia, have been temporarily suspended following a fire. According to Pinnacle, operations were suspended as a result of a ‘fire-related event’ on 25 November in the facility’s dryer area. The company reported that three employees sustained minor injuries and were taken to hospital as... [Read More]

Hive Energy, iLive Sustainable Development, and Partners for Innovation have partnered to establish Coega Biomass Centre – Africa’s largest wood pellet export facility. The company, funded by Hive Energy, based in the UK, has taken over and will restore the existing non-operational plant in Port Elizabeth. The project is expected to deliver 100 direct jobs and 700... [Read More]

Pinnacle Renewable Energy has reported its best quarterly performance due to record production volumes. The company reported revenues of $131.7 million (€111 million) in Q3 2020, 42% higher than the same period in 2019. Its adjusted gross margin increased by $13.8 million (€11.6 million) to $31.7 million (€26.8 million) in Q3 2020 compared to Q3 2019. Adjusted... [Read More]

The Port of Tyne, one of the UK’s major deep-sea ports, has announced a £1 million (€1.1 million) investment in its wood pellet handling operations. As part of the investment, state-of-the-art equipment is being installed and a range of measures implemented to help combat dust emissions from the dry wood pellets it handles into the UK. Improvements include dust... [Read More]

Enviva has reported its financial and operating results for the third quarter of 2020, with chairman and CEO John Keppler declaring the company is “firmly on track” to deliver results within its full-year guidance range. In Q3, Enviva reported a net income of $1.4 million (€1.18 million), compared to net income of $8.9 million (€7.5 million) in Q3 2019. Adjusted... [Read More]

Bioenergy Europe’s ENplus wood pellet certification scheme has celebrated 10 years of operations. For a decade, the ENplus scheme has contributed to the development of the premium pellet market by introducing and maintaining harmonised pellet quality across the supply chain. As of November, there are more than 1,040 certified pellet producers, traders, and service... [Read More]

Amercentrale, a biomass and coal-fired plant owned by RWE in the Netherlands, will soon run on 80% biomass. The conversion of Amercentrale’s fifth turbine will be completed at the end of summer, at which point 90% of the electricity and heat produced by the plant will be generated by wood pellets. RWE intends to be climate-neutral by 2040 and by 2030 the firm will... [Read More]

Bioenergy Europe has released the fifth chapter of its Statistical Report 2020, focusing on pellets. The report highlights the key contribution of wood pellets to the EU sustainable recovery, and to the 2050 carbon neutrality target, describing pellets as a ‘true example of circularity’. In 2019, the EU28 produced nearly 18 million tonnes of pellets (approximately... [Read More]

The University of West Alabama has received a $1.7 million (€1.43 million) grant by the US Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration to improve barge access at the Port of Epes Industrial Park. The EDA grant – to be allocated in a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone - will be matched with $540,000 (€455,000) in local funds and is expected... [Read More]

A feasibility study by the Biorenewables Development Centre (BDC), a subsidiary of the University of York, will investigate the commercial production of sustainable, locally-sourced materials to produce biomass boiler pellets in Yorkshire, UK. It is hoped the new pellets, derived from municipal and woodland waste, will help to reduce the region’s carbon footprint... [Read More]

Three environmental groups have sent a notice of intent to sue wood pellet manufacturer Jasper Pellets for “significant, repeated, and ongoing” Clean Air Act violations. The notice sent on 22 September accuses the company of multiple violations, including operating the facility in Ridgeland, South Carolina and installing new manufacturing equipment without proper... [Read More]