Why Biomass Wood Pellets? Wood pellets are a wood by-product typically made from compacted sawdust, shavings, and logging residuals.
Coupled with sustainable forest practices, such as the forest management techniques used in B.C., wood pellets represent a clean, renewable resource with nearly limitless application – including providing a carbon neutral energy alternative to fossil fuels like coal. Wood pellets also have substantially lower moisture than wood chips or cordwood, making them more efficient for use as fuel. Trees capturing carbon dioxide as they grow offsets the emissions released when wood is used for fuel, resulting in a 100% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions when switching from coal to wood pellets.
The high density and uniform shape of wood pellets makes them efficient to transport by rail, store in standard, sealed silos, and export to overseas destinations. The B.C. wood pellet industry has provided hundreds of new jobs, significant environmental benefits, and complements traditional forest industry products.
In 2005 Fibreco entered the wood pellet terminal handling business and is now one of the largest terminal handlers of export wood pellets in the world. The terminal unloads, stores, and loads our customers’ wood pellets for shipment to Europe and Asia. The wood pellets are primarily used as a biomass fuel in electricity generation. Wood pellet producers maintain ownership of the product throughout the supply chain until it is sold to customers, with Fibreco contracted for terminal services.
B.C.’s wood pellet production has grown dramatically in response to increasing biomass demand from European and Asian markets. To meet the increased demand, Fibreco has built a significant amount storage which can accommodate enough cargo to fill a Handymax vessel.
