Pinnacle Renewable Holdings Inc. has announced approval to commence the redevelopment of an existing particle board facility in Smithers, B.C. to a wood pellet production facility.

SPLP is a limited partnership in which West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has a 30 percent and Pinnacle has 70 percent interest.

The Facility, which is connected via direct rail link to Pinnacle’s Westview Port Terminal, will have an annual production capacity of 125,000 metric tons. Initial wood pellet production at the facility is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2018. Wood fibre supply for the facility and customer off-take agreements for the facility’s annual production have been secured under long-term contracts.

“We are pleased to be partnering on the Smithers facility redevelopment with West Fraser. This project will contribute to the economic vitality and job growth of Smithers and other local communities,” said Robert McCurdy, chief executive officer of Pinnacle. “We are committed to the numerous communities throughout the Western Canadian fibre basket in which we operate, and we plan to continue to look for similar projects to support our future growth.”

Wood pellet production is expected to commence at the Smithers facility by the third quarter of 2018.