To celebrate the recent completion of two new pellet plants in Chetwynd and Fort St. John, Canfor held a grand opening event at both locations on July 19 that was attended by local delegates, a group of customers and media. Guests at each location attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony and toured our modern pellet plants that convert once waste-bound biomass into green energy.
Both the Chetwynd and Fort St. John pellet plants are part of a joint venture with Pacific Bioenergy Corporation and, together, have a combined annual capacity of 175,000 tonnes of industrial grade wood pellets. The Chetwynd Plant has been fully operational since late last year, and the Fort St. John plant reached full operations earlier this year.
The two plants, each located at existing Canfor sawmills, represent a total investment of $58 million and play an important role in maximizing the value of our fibre with their production of sustainable wood pellets from once waste-bound sawmill residues.
With an organic rankine cycle (ORC) installed at the Chetwynd plant – the first ORC installation for Canfor – the Chetwynd pellet plant is self-sufficient in renewable heat and electricity. The ORC functions as a 3.5MW power plant that takes 20% of the heat from the energy system and converts it into electricity. The ORC generates an estimated 21,000 MWh/year of electricity, which is equivalent to the amount required to power 1,470 homes. The remaining heat (80%) is used to dry the sawdust prior to its use as pellet production feedstock.
We’re proud to officially celebrate the addition of the Chetwynd and Fort St. John Pellet Plants and Canfor’s further expansion in green energy production. There were many dedicated employees who played important roles in bringing these plants to full operations and I appreciate each person’s contributions to these projects. I look forward to many years of success for both plants.