Albioma acquires La Granaudière wood pellet plant in Quebec

Albioma has acquired the La Granaudière wood pellet production plant located in Quebec. This transaction, marking the culmination of a process organized by Raymond Chabot in its capacity as official receiver, will diversify the group’s sources of sustainable biomass supplies, supplementing the existing portfolio of contracts with top-tier international suppliers.

Ideally positioned to supply the group’s Caribbean power plants, this facility produces SBP-certified pellets from wood waste or low-grade wood from certified sustainably managed forests.

The transaction also includes a long-term agreement granting access to a 45,000-tonne pellet storage facility in the Port of Quebec, as well as raw material supply guarantees issued by Quebec’s Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks (MFFP).

The plant, which has been out of service since July 2021, concomitantly with the receivership procedure, is due to be recommissioned in early 2022, with its nominal annual production capacity of 200,000 tonnes being achieved following some additional investments.

Frédéric Moyne, Albioma’s chairman and CEO, comments: “We extend a warm welcome to the staff at La Granaudière, as they bring their expertise to Albioma. Through this transaction, which will enable us to produce pellets to very strict sustainability requirements, Albioma is renewing and stepping up its commitment to the energy transition in Overseas France. Supplementing locally-sourced biomass, to which priority will naturally be given in order to stimulate the circular economy, this diversified supply is essential, ensuring that we are able to continuously generate renewable energy in non-interconnected areas.”

[Editor’s note: Read Canadian Biomass’ 2020 profile article on La Granaudière here.]