Irving, Texas-based Alternative Energy Development signs contract for option to lease site in Coleman, Texas, for proposed wood pellet manufacturing facility that will use locally sourced juniper and mesquite trees

Audrey Dixon

LOS ANGELES , September 25, 2013 (Industry Intelligence) – Alternative Energy Development LLC (AED) has signed a contract giving it the option to lease part of a 224-acre site in Coleman, Texas, to build the company’s first proposed wood pellet manufacturing facility, Coleman News reported on Sept. 18.

The land belongs to the City of Coleman, which signed the contract along with Irving, Texas-based AED and the Coleman Economic Development Corp. The agreement will allow AED the chance to perform surveys and technical analysis to determine the site’s suitability and the company has until Jan. 31, 2014, to decide whether to finalize the lease.

The plant would process juniper and mesquite trees into wood pellets destined for the European energy market.

The proposed Coleman facility is one of four the company is planning, each of which will produce around 150,000 tons/year of wood pellets, according to AED Management Inc. President/Director Jack Lauterbach.

AED reportedly has 500,000 acres of land under contract in Coleman and surrounding counties from which to harvest the feedstock timber and is working with Mesquite Fuels and Agriculture (MFA) to harvest the wood.

The pellet plant is expected to employ 15-20 employees, with 30-40 more—probably contractors—employed in harvesting, bundling and hauling the trees to the facility.

The company estimates it will need about 30 loads of trees per day to operate the plant at full capacity, Coleman News reported.

AED’s CEO Randall Terrell noted USDA estimates that, by 2020, 50 to 80 million tonnes/year of wood pellets will be shipped to Europe. The proposed Coleman plant would produce about 150,000 short tons/year.

AED was formed in 2010 by local landowner and entrepreneur Terrell in partnership with Lauterbach, formerly chief operations director and president of MFA, according to a June 27 article by BigCountryHomepage.com that is available via a link on AED’s website. (http://aedtexas.com/index.html)


The primary source of this article is Coleman News, Coleman, Texas, Sept. 18, 2013.

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