A Terrace-based pellet plant may soon become a reality as Skeena Sawmills moves forward on its plans to begin construction this summer, said the Terrace Standard Tuesday.

The northern British Columbia mill is reserving its official announcement on the estimated $20-million pellet plant until construction starts, but operations vice-president Roger Keery has confirmed the project is going ahead.

Employing 10-15 people, the Terrace plant will be run as a separate company called Skeena Biofuels.

Terrace, BC, Wood Energy Plant

Construction on the new wood pellet plant is expected to start this summer, with the equipment arriving in June or July, said the Terrace Standard. Terrace, BC, has had a long history of false starts around pellet and other wood and fibre plants in the past 10 years, with about six attempts in partnership with the Terrace mill.

Approximately 30 per cent of harvested wood is unusable for lumber products, and until now Skeena Sawmills has been loading it into the Kitsumkalum landfill. The landfill is now full, so the sawmill has been stockpiling its waste wood in anticipation of what’s hoped to be the pellet plant’s fall startup.

Roc Holdings Ltd, the Vancouver, BC-based investment company that owns Skeena Sawmills, is starting up a separate company called Skeena Biofuels to build and operate the pellet plant, but are considering potential partnerships.

The plant will produce an estimated 75,000 tonnes of pellets per year, and although buyers have not yet been identified Keery said there’s been a lot of interest from markets in China, Japan and Korea. Once the plant is operational it will provide 12 to 15 jobs, probably two in management positions and 10-13 for operations and maintenance.