German Pellets plans US$100M wood pellet plant near Woodville, Texas, to produce 500,000 tonnes/year to ship to Europe for growing bioenergy market

Audrey Dixon

LOS ANGELES , January 30, 2012 (Industry Intelligence) –

German Pellets Texas Llc plans to spend US$100 million to build a wood pellet plant in Woodville, in East Texas, sourcing logs from a 75-mile radius to eventually supply the growing European biomass energy market, said an official, The Beaumont Enterprise reported Jan. 30.

The operation will produce 500,000 tonnes/year when production begins in 2013 and ship through ports nearby.

German Pellets expects to receive state permits in February to begin work on the facility.

The company will demolish some of the former North American Procurement Co. mill, building the 250- to 300-employee pellet plant on the site, said Tyler Country Judge Jacques Blanchette, The Beaumont Enterprise reported.

Tyler County Commissioners Court approved a 10-year tax abatement for the mill. The Wismar, Germany-based company also received a first-year abatement of 90% on improvements; the abatement amount drops to 10% in the final year.

Company CEO Peter Liebold said in a statement that he expects European wood pellet consumption to climb between 15 million tonnes and 25 million tonnes a year by 2020. European consumption is currently 11 million tonnes, according to The Beaumont Enterprise.

Coal-fired power plants are switching to wood pellets, driving growth in the European market for industrial-grade pellets, Liebold said. He also noted that Canada was currently Europe's largest supplier at 1 million metric tons in 2011, but that Canada is expected eventually to retain a larger percentage of its production for its own power generation.

The primary source of this article is The Beaumont Enterprise,Beaumont, Texas, on Jan. 30, 2012.

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