Pinnacle set to start construction of new plant

If all goes as planned, Pinnacle Renewable Energy will start construction of its Demopolis plant in March. When completed, the pellet-producing mill will hire some 50 skilled workers to provide sustainable fuel to power plants in Europe.

George Anaglade, Pinnacle general manager, told Rotarians Wednesday the Canadian-based company is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and distributors of industrial wood pellets. The pellets are used by large-scale thermal power generators to provide sustainable power.

So much in demand is Pinnacle’s product that the company is sold out through 2026. It will have to build one or two plants each year just to keep up with its contracts, said Anaglade.

This will be the second pellet plant in Alabama for Pinnacle. The company also has one in Aliceville.

The Demopolis plant will be located adjacent to Two Rivers Lumber Company. Roy Geiger, co-owner of Two Rivers, told Rotarians that discussions with Pinnacle began about 3 ½ years ago. He said 40 percent of the mill’s product is other than lumber, and a pellet mill was a good fit to use the rest of the wood.

“Our by-product is their finished product,” Geiger said.

Anaglade said the new company will build a barge-loading facility at the site, and barges will travel to the Port of Mobile. There the pellets will be transferred to ocean-going ships and taken to Europe.

Pinnacle’s plants in Canada ship their product to one of two terminals on the British Columbia coast for transport to Asia and Europe.

One of the steps in producing the pellets is drying the wood, said Anaglade. To keep its own “carbon footprint” small, Pinnacle will use wood bark for 90 percent of the fuel needed for the process. No chemicals are used in the production of the pellets.

Anaglade said the company will do its own training but will need workers skilled in electronics to monitor the process.