B.C's $60 million wood pellet plant at Duke Point to become operational in 2016

VANCOUVER (Scrap Monster): TimberWest- Western Canada’s largest timber and land management company has proposed to build a $60 million wood pellet plant at Duke Point, Nanaimo, B.C. The plant is expected to go operational by 2016. According to TimberWest, the plant will be the first of its scale on Vancouver Island.

The plant will have capacity to produce 200,000 metric tonnes of wood pellet per annum. It makes use of renewable resources such as tree limbs and tops, sawmill tailings and sawdust. The construction of the plant is expected to start by early-2015 after getting necessary zoning and permits.

The construction process will take almost a year and is expected to employ nearly 100 people. Once operational, the plant is expected to create 65 full-time positions- 15 within the plant and the balance 50 in gathering operations. TimberWest hopes that the proposed plant would significantly contribute towards the Nanaimo's economy.

TimberWest is Western Canada’s largest private managed forest land owner with 325,400 hectares / 804,200 acres on Vancouver Island. The Company also owns renewable Crown harvest rights to 700,000 m3 per year. TimberWest is privately owned by two leading Canadian pension funds, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board.