2020-10-21 00:45:56
The world record for the quantity of wood pellets carried in a single vessel has been broken. Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc. loaded 64,527 tonnes on board the MG Kronos, destined for the UK. The panamax vessel, chartered by Cargill and planned with assistance from Thor E. Brandrud of Simpson Spence Young, was loaded at Fibreco Export Inc. on July 18, 2020. The previous record of 63,907 tonnes was held by Drax Biomass on the Zheng Zhi, loaded in Baton Rouge in March this year.
“We are really happy to get that record back!” said Vaughan Bassett, senior vice-president of Pinnacle. “It took a combination of various factors lining up to make this a reality. We needed all the product available in the terminal, a high capacity vessel, competent stevedoring and the correct draft conditions in the Panama Canal.”
This continuing trend towards larger cargo sizes helps lower the GHG footprint per tonne of product transported off the west coast.
The receiver, Drax PLC, will consume these wood pellets at their power station in Yorkshire in the UK.
Gordon Murray, executive director of the Wood Pellet Association of Canada, said, “Pinnacle’s accomplishment is especially gratifying given that these Canadian wood pellets will be used to generate sustainable, renewable, low-carbon electricity in the United Kingdom, helping that country with its climate mitigation efforts and keeping their electrical grid operating safely and securely.”
Pinnacle’s CEO, Rob McCurdy, remarked that he was proud of Pinnacle’s commitment to reducing the GHG footprint of their wood pellets. “Every part of every initiative helps,” he said, “especially when the incremental improvement is exponentially more difficult to achieve. That’s when we know we are doing everything we can and it makes me proud.”
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