BIOMASS update Viridis energy oPens mercHant diVision dent of Viridis Merchants. “The wood pellet industry represents a classic merchan-dising opportunity in its early stages. Viridis intends to expand its brokerage busi-ness, which currently utilizes several third party producers, to include locational differ-entials, supply and demand imbalances and aggregation opportunities to increase its overall participation,” said Robertson. “In addition to brokering transactions between buyers and sellers, Viridis intends to augment its production capacity, currently approaching 200,000 tons per year from its Okanagan Pellet and Scotia Atlantic Bio-mass Companies, with third party suppliers’ products of equal quality to develop addi-tional brands in the residen-tial market.” correction In the September/October edition of Canadian Biomass , Gordon Murray’s column on page nine, Table 1 stated that the annual log harvest in B.C. was based at 2.45 bdt/m 3 . In fact, that figure should have been stated as 2.45 m 3 /bdt. We apologize for any confusion this error may have caused. fort st. James biomass ProJect secures funding ort St. James Green Energy LP, whose Fort St. James biomass project was one of four approved by B.C. Hydro in 2011, recently announced that it has secured funding to move forward with the project. Project operators announced that a group of five banks have come together to provide the $175 million in debt financing needed to move construction forward on the 40-megawatt, $235-million biomass power plant project. The Fort St. James project was one of four awarded by B.C. Hydro as part of a program to use moun-tain-pine-beetle-killed timber in British Columbia’s interior. Set to come online in early 2016, the Fort St. James plant is expected to produce enough power for approximately 26,000 homes and will employ over 20 full-time staff. Under the 30-year agreement with B.C. Hydro, the utility provider will pay an average of $115 per megawatt of electricity. Viridis Energy Inc. has formed a wholly owned subsidiary, Viridis Merchants Inc., to arrange transactions between buyer and sellers of alternative energy, including wood pellets. The company has hired commodities trading special-ist Jesse Harte as managing director, Wholesale Division of Viridis Merchants. Doug Mid-dleton, who currently manages the U.S. brokerage business for Viridis, has been appoint-ed managing director, Retail Division of Viridis Merchants. Christopher Robertson, Viridis’ CEO, will also serve as presi-F Port Hawkesbury biomass Plant officially oPens The Port Hawkesbury biomass plant has officially opened its doors as part of the Port Hawkesbury Paper site in Point Tupper. The biomass plant has been operating at full capacity since July. The biomass-fuelled cogeneration plant, owned by Nova Scotia Power, will use approximately 650,000 tonnes of biomass per year. That volume will provide 60 megawatts of power, enough to provide power for around 50,000 homes. The biomass power at Port Hawkesbury will provide between nine and 12 per cent of Nova Scotia’s renewable energy target. The government set the target for total renew-able energy at 25 per cent of all electricity consumed by the end of 2015, with an increase to 40 per cent renewable energy by 2020. The biomass plant has created approximately 30 full-time jobs, with an additional 200 indirect jobs created as a result of the plant’s operations. Greenleaf Power buys Quebec cogen plant Greenleaf Power has confirmed its purchase of the St-Félicien Cogeneration Power Plant from Enel Green Power. Enel has owned the 21-megawatt power plant in St-Félicien, Quebec since its inception in 2001. The acquisition of the St-Félicien plant marks the first renewable energy power plant owned by Greenleaf Power outside of the United States. The addition of the St-Félicien facility gives Greenleaf Power close to 145 megawatts of renewable energy assets. The plant, located approximately 300 kilometres north of Montreal, supplies enough power for approximately 23,000 homes thanks to a long-term distribution agree-ment with the Government of Quebec. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 8 Canadian BIOMASS
Canadian Biomass November/December 2013: Page 8
