Chatham-based Canadian Biofuel is generating a lot of heat on the foreign market. The Ontario company has signed a five-year $36 million contract with Italy’s Green Dot Biomass Energy Company Inc. to export wood pellets.
“Last year, Europe consumed 13 million tons of biomass pellets,” said Ian Moncrieff, president and CEO of Canadian Biofuel. “By 2015, they will be using 20 million; by 2020, it will be 30 million-plus.”
European countries don’t have the landmass to produce enough biomass pellets to meet the demand, which is why they are looking at Canada and the U.S. to fill the void, he said.
For Moncrieff it means an expansion at his Springford, Ont., plant and more than doubling his workforce before the end of the year.
Canadian Biofuel, which has its head office in Chatham, will produce 1,200 tons of wood pellets a month starting in mid-July for export, before increasing to 4,000 tons a month by October to meet the winter season demand. In comparison, the company produces 4,000 tons of wood pellets during the winter for the domestic market.
From The Mayerthorpe Freelancer: http://www.mayerthorpefreelancer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3592636
Tags: biomass pellets, Canadian Biofuel, Canadian biomass, Canadian wood pellets, European biomass, European wood pellets, Green Dot Biomass Energy, Ian Moncrieff
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