Viridis Energy buys Enligna wood pellet plant in Nova Scotia

Viridis Energy Inc. of Vancouver has purchased Enligna Canada Inc. wood pellet plant in Musquodoboit Valley, Nova Scotia.

The purchase is subject to court approval because Enlinga Canada is in receivership. The plant has been closed since August, 2011.

The assets to be acquired include 20 buildings on four properties with a total of 157 acres and a separate 22 acre wood lot. The facilities houses five pellet presses with the capacity to produce 110,000 tonnes of wood pellets annually.

Viridis Energy is eager to take over the wood pellet plant. The company plans to return the plant to full capacity in April through June of this year.

Viridis Energy’s CFO Michele Rebiere said the company plans to being hiring as soon as all the necessary approvals are in order.

“We will bring in some people from our existing pellet production facility for their expertise, but will be looking to talk to all former employees of the pellet plant.” said Rebiere.

Rebiere said going into production in Nova Scotia gives their company excellent access to Europe where the demand for pellets is strong.

The plant employed about 60 people when it Enligna Canada was placed in receivership in August.

According to Viridis Energy’s website, the company currently supplies more than 5% of British Columbia’s wood pellet output to North American customers. B.C. is the largest producer of wood pellets in Canada.

Viridis Energy has made several acquisitions to bolster its leading position in the wood pellet sector of biomass industry. In April 2010 the company acquired Monte Lake Forest Products Ltd. of Kamloops, B.C. A month earlier, in March, the company acquired Westwood Fibre Products Inc., of Kelowna, B.C. In August, 2010 Westwood Fibre Products name was changed to Okanagan Pellet Company. And last year, Viridis acquired Cypress Pacific Marketing, a Vancouver-based private company specializing in the distribution of premium softwood pellets. Cypress Pacific has been producing and distributing Okanagan Pellets™, premium softwood pellets, to the North American market for the past four years.

Sources:
Viridis Energy’s Bid to Acquire Certain Assets of Nova Scotia Wood Pellet Manufacturer Accepted by Court Appointed Receiver (Viridis Energy Inc.)
N.S. mill sold to Vancouver energy firm (Chronicle Herald)
Rapid reopening of pellet plant planned (Chronicle Herald)