/ EIN Presswire / VANCOUVER, CANADA, FEBRUARY 2, 2010 – General Biofuels Canada (GBC), a subsidiary of international Biofuels company General Biofuels, announced today that they are planning a 500,000 metric tonne per year wood pellet facility in Terrace, British Columbia. The facility will make industrial wood pellets from local hemlock fibre sources harvested from sustainably managed forests. The source material will come from a broad range of local forest license holders, many of whom have signed letters of intent to commit their non-saw-grade fibre to the project. In addition, the British Columbia Ministry of Forests has expressed a willingness to meet any supply shortfalls with additional license capacity if required.
GBC has entered into an agreement with the City of Terrace, BC to obtain a site for the log storage and wood pellet plant that will more than meet its needs. The facility is located adjacent to the Canadian National Rail tracks, which will give it easy access to the deep water port at Prince Rupert just under 150 kilometres away. A leading engineering firm has begun design work on the plant.
GBC anticipates that the plant’s main customers will be utilities and industrial firms in Asia and Europe who are looking to replace coal with carbon-neutral fuel sources. GBC already has letters of intent from buyers in these markets and continues to negotiate with others to complete its sales portfolio. GBC plans to produce pellets for export by early 2011.
“We are excited about this project and are strongly committed to supporting its success,” says the Honorable Pat Bell, Minister of Forests and Range for the Province of British Columbia. “There are nearly four million cubic metres of underutilized timber in the Northwest and we are enthusiastic about the jobs and economic growth this project will bring to the region.”
“General Biofuels views this project as central to our growth into the biomass space,” says David Smith, Vice President, Corporate Development of General Biofuels. “With the team we have on the ground in British Columbia, and the strong progress we’ve made to date, we are confident this project will bring significant growth to the area.”
About General Biofuels Canada
Located in British Columbia, General Biofuels Canada is a producer of industrial wood pellets. General Biofuels Canada is committed to long term relationships in the northwest region and scalable business practices. GBC is focused on leveraging underutilized fibre supply and ensuring the sustainable management of forests. General Biofuels Canada’s first pellet plant will be located in Terrace, British Columbia. For more information, visit www.GeneralBiofuels.ca.
About General Biofuels
General Biofuels’ mission is to create the fuels to reduce greenhouse gasses globally. We use non-food sources, from non-food-producing, sustainably managed lands to produce bio-fuels. Our fuels supply a full range of demand, including transportation (bio-diesel), electric generation (bio-fuel and bio-mass), and heat generation (bio-mass). General Biofuels aims to operate a network of facilities supplying sustainably harvested fuels to energy consumers around the globe. For more information, visit www.GeneralBiofuels.com.
