As Pinnacle Renewable Energy ownership deal closes, Environmental Group opens debate on supply of Pellets

Pinnacle Renewable Energy has sold its assets including the
Westview Shipment Terminal to UK based Drax

British Columbia based Pinnace Renewable Energy is now wholly owned by interests from the United Kingdom, with an announcement last week that the purchase had been completed as of April 13th.

As we tracked from February, Drax a global renewable energy leader had been working on the deal for the last few months, looking to bring the Pinnacle assets of pellet production facilities and the Westview Terminal into their corporate fold.

In their advisory of the purchase, Drax Power observed how the new Canadian holdings would position the UK company as a leading provider of sustainable biomass generation and supply.

It transforms Drax into a truly international business, trading bioenergy from the North America continent to Europe and Asia, and positions the enlarged Group to take advantage of global growth opportunities, with the market for biomass pellets for renewable generation in Europe and Asia expected to grow significantly. This large and geographically diversified asset base enhances Drax’s sourcing flexibility and security of supply.

While they celebrate the purchase in the UK boardroom in London, they may want to keep an eye on a percolating issue from their newly purchased assets in Canada. 

That as a report from Stand.earth puts some of the production aspects of their Northwest pellet facilities into the spotlight.

The report outlines how the organization believes that whole trees  are being processed into pellets, a deviation from the usual process of waste wood being used for that purpose, something that they say will put forests, wildlife and the climate at risk.

Stand.earth based their findings by using photos and satellite imagery of pellet facilities owned by both Pacific Bio Energy and Pinnacle Renewable Energy.

Among some of their findings:

Pellets are likely being made with wood from threatened species habitat, and a growing wood pellet export sector puts additional strain on endangered species like woodland caribou. 

At the smokestack, burning wood pellets for power generation is worse than coal in terms of climate pollution. 

It can take decades to centuries for forests to regain the majority of their carbon storage capacity compared to pre-harvest levels, whereas carbon is instantly emitted to the atmosphere when wood pellets are burned.

Serious flaws in emissions accounting and the blanket classification of biomass as a renewable energy resource jeopardize our ability to meet global climate goals. •

The industry is only tenable due to massive subsidies, especially in import countries, where resources could be invested in true low-carbon solutions such as wind, solar, tidal, geothermal, and efficiency.

Towards a solution to the issues that they have an urgent concern over, Stand.earth has recommended the following actions from the provincial government.

Preventing new construction or expansion of wood pellet export facilities. 

Ending public subsidies for the wood pellet export industry

Establishing protection for primary, carbon-rich, and other natural forests

Respecting Indigenous title and rights b

Supporting forest communities and workers 

Advancing only small-scale development of biomass projects

You can explore the full report here.

The Stand.earth report also gained a fair bit of notice from the media both local and provincial last week, some of the themes explored can be found below:

Wood Pellet Production concerns (video)

Report shows entire logs are being used at Northwest wood pellet plants

BC trees are being turned into wood pellets - and that's bad for the climate and workforce, critics say

Stacks of logs in pellet plant yards draw critics' eyes

New report pokes holes in sustainability of BC's wood pellet industry

Canada is currently the second largest exporter of wood pellets, which is why Drax chose to expand across the ocean to secure supply for their own needs in the UK as well as towards global opportunities.

The Stand.earth report most likely won't be the only one that may capture some attention at the head office as they review their new holdings; another report released last week provides a glimpse at the prospects for improving financials for the industry in Canada.

That comes from the Wood Pellet Association of Canada which observed in a presentation relayed by Canadian BioMass that over the next five years, the demand for Wood pellets could increase by by 40 percent.

More notes on the biomass industry in the Northwest can be explored here.