Grand River Pellets expands production to meet customer demand for greener energy
J.D. Irving, Limited has long played a key role fighting climate change with efforts that include planting over a billion trees. JDI recently declared its Forest Supply Chain, from seed to sale of products, carbon neutral. Now, the production of green energy wood pellets is being expanded, as the world works to transition away from fossil fuels.
Grand River Pellets, located in Northern New Brunswick, has undertaken a new project to expand production and keep up with the high demands in the green energy market. A new $30 million investment will allow the operation to increase production and help our customers reduce their carbon footprints.
The pellets produced at the New Brunswick facility are used by customers to replace coal in district heating and electricity generation plants. One of the key markets for these pellets is Europe where countries have adopted policies and legislation to encourage the use of sustainable bioenergy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels. Bioenergy saves millions of tonnes of CO2 emissions every year and is responsible for 58% of Europe’s renewable energy production. This is more energy production than wind, solar, hydro and geothermal energy combined.
In order to respond to this demand, Grand River Pellets will be expanding production to more than double its capacity, from 140,000 to 220,000 tonnes per year once commissioned in May 2023. The plant is a value-added operation meaning it uses lower value byproducts such as sawdust and bark from sawmills owned by J.D. Irving, Limited as well as independent suppliers to create wood pellets. Grand River Pellets is proud that its operations are 3rd party certified to ensure responsible forest management and social benefits.
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