In March, the U.S. EIA published our sector&rsquo;s production and sales data for December 2020, completing the dataset for the year and offering the industry a chance to compare the year in its entirety to the others in its archives. Despite my predictions in the last issue of Pellet Mill Magazine, we were not able to eclipse the 2019 sales figure (2.22 million tons), falling just short with total sales of 2.18 million tons. Sales in 2020 were tracking just slightly ahead of 2019 figures through October, but a mild start to winter saw sales sag in November and December, with almost 60,000 fewer tons sold in the last two frames of 2020 than in the year prior. Despite the utility of this important dataset curated by the EIA, what it does not and cannot convey is the perilous business environment this near-record year saw producers having to navigate. In the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, it seemed that the industry was on the precipice of managing the biggest business disruption in the sector&rsquo;s history. In late March, wood pellet producers were long on questions and very short on answers or certainty. Would producers be able to remain safely in operation? How? Would upstream fiber partners so vital to pellet manufacturers be able to remain in operation? Would consumer demand for the products those partners manufactured continue unabated? Some of those questions were answered in short order, as federal guidance on wood product manufacturing secured our sector&rsquo;s status as essential. Other questions could only be answered in time, and were illuminated by the slow accumulation of sector data and anecdotes from the field. Wood pellet production lagged in April, with the sector logging just 122,000 tons of production, the lowest one-month total since July 2018. As the 2019-&rsquo;20 heating season ended and the pandemic accelerated, producers lengthened planned maintenance outages, phased out peak-season throughput totals or just modulated their production throttles slightly. Beginning in April, monthly output trailed 2019 numbers, but only slightly. The last nine months of 2020 saw the sector average 164,000 tons a month, down from 177,000 in 2019, but still well ahead of the monthly production averages of 2016-&rsquo;18. Considering the uncertainty that surrounded the industry and the others that wood pellet producers rely on&mdash;not only for their fiber, but also to sell their finished product in the early months of the year&mdash;2020 must be considered a runaway success. This year also underscored how vitally important wood pellet manufacturers are to our upstream and downstream partners. Our ability to safely remain online assured upstream manufacturers that if they were able to remain in production, wood pellet producers would be ready to and willing to pay for their residuals. This cannot be overlooked. Sawmills and wood product manufacturing sites across this country throw off incredible volumes of clean, high-quality residuals. In 2020, wood pellet producers purchased 8.7 million tons of these residuals. At 23 tons of fiber per load, that equates to 350,000 individual truckloads. A convoy of that number would stretch from Anchorage to Miami. Had the wood pellet sector not been able to remain in operation, the fiber bottleneck would have soon snuffed out upstream sawmilling and wood product manufacturing.&nbsp; Finally, most of the pellets produced and sold in bags are used to heat peoples&rsquo; homes. It is believed that over 1 million American homes use wood pellets either as a primary or supplemental heat source, and those homeowners needed pellet producers to figure out how to overcome the challenge of the pandemic. They certainly did, continuing to deliver to the market a high-quality fuel to heat what were not only people&rsquo;s homes, but had become remote offices and children&rsquo;s classrooms as well. The fact that the sector was able to meet this challenge in the most uncertain of times and deliver upon our commitments to both our fiber partners and our end users is not articulated in the data. Instead, this accomplishment can only be captured in stories told years from now that begin, &ldquo;Do you remember when ... ?&rdquo; Author: Tim Portz Executive Director, Pellet Fuels Institute <a href="mailto:tim@pelletheat.org">tim@pelletheat.org</a> <a href="http://www.pelletheat.org">www.pelletheat.org </a>
Printed in Issue 2, 2021 of Pellet Mill Magazine

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Considering the uncertainty that surrounded the pellet industry and others that wood pellet producers rely on, 2020 must be considered a runaway success.

Despite Everything, 2020 Was Strong  for Pellet Producers

Summer is (mostly) here, and lately, I have been seriously considering purchasing a wood pellet grill. I have been told countless times by industry friends that the taste is exponentially better than gas and charcoal grilling (and also that it&rsquo;s easy). As those in the market know, BBQ pellets have seen explosive growth over the past few years, so much that I have been considering adding it as a data category for the North American Wood Pellet Production Map. It may be as simple as asking fuel pellet producers if they also make grilling pellets, or a little more detailed such as asking for a rough percentage in terms of their heating-to-grilling pellet ratio. I&rsquo;m looking for feedback on what data points might be useful (and practical) to capture, so reach out to me with any feedback you might have. Moving on to the specifics of this issue, our theme is fire and explosion protection, and dust control. This is a theme we have every year, and for good reason: The material that is the lifeblood for this industry&mdash;wood dust&mdash;is a flammable substance. Add heat and friction into the mix, and you have a recipe for risk. There are many companies working in this space to provide wood pellet producers with the knowledge, tools and equipment necessary to best prevent, monitor and manage the hazards associated with wood dust. Many of them presented at the virtual International Biomass Conference &amp; Expo this spring, and freelance writer Luke LeRoy captured these conversations in his page-16 feature, &ldquo;Tools and Technologies for Dust, Fire and Explosion Mitigation.&rdquo; One concept reiterated by the experts featured in the story is the impact of good housekeeping&mdash;it can mean the difference between crisis averted and catastrophe. Says Chris Giusto of Hallam-ICS, &ldquo;Because good housekeeping is integral to all aspects of combustible dust safety, it must be considered and reviewed at every stage of the production cycle. In fact, good housekeeping is critical in the avoidance of secondary events, which are often the most destructive.&rdquo; From dust hazard analyses to NFPA standards to understanding different risks and safety strategies available, there&rsquo;s plenty to digest in this story. Other themed content includes our page-22 contribution, &ldquo;Controlling Combustible Dust and Spillage,&rdquo; in which Benetech&rsquo;s Greg Bierie provides some insight about and real project examples of what he dubs &ldquo;safety by design.&rdquo; In addition, be sure to check out this issue&rsquo;s Sponsor Spotlight section on pages 24-25, which features content from industry pros CV Technology and FLAMEX. With in-person industry events slowly returning as the pandemic wanes in the U.S., I have a couple of trips on the books: The Pellet Fuels Institute annual conference in Louisville, Kentucky, in June, as well as a new event&mdash;the National Biomass Summit &amp; Expo, July 13-15. Colocated with BBI International&rsquo;s 37th annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo, as well as the Biodiesel &amp; Renewable Diesel Summit, this event may be something you want to keep your eye on. The agenda is in development and will be ready soon, so stay tuned.
Printed in Issue 2, 2021 of Pellet Mill Magazine

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There are many companies working in this space to provide wood pellet producers with the knowledge, tools and equipment necessary to best prevent, monitor and manage the hazards associated with wood dust. 

Good Housekeeping is Priceless

ISO TC 238 is the International Standards Organization&rsquo;s Technical Committee through which numerous countries around the world are working together to develop standards for solid biofuels. While the efforts of ISO TC 238 are ongoing, historically, they have been most robust during the annual plenary and working group meetings held in the spring of each year. Last year&rsquo;s plenary was cancelled due to COVID-19, and this year&rsquo;s meeting is now planned as a virtual event in June. While ISO TC 238 has not met in person since May 2019, we have found new efficiency in using video conferencing platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. To date, ISO TC 238 has published 44 methods with 12 methods currently under development. The following is an update as to which projects are currently in motion. A U.S.-led project of interest is ISO 23343-1, determination of water sorption and its effect on durability in thermally treated biomass fuel pellets. For biomass thermal treatment technology initiatives, a common selling point is that the material becomes water resistant and can be stored outside. This test method is designed to determine how much water sorption occurs in thermally treated biomass fuel pellets when immersed in water, and also assesses the durability of the product before and after immersion. This project is in its final stages of publication and has been unanimously approved by all participating countries. Another standard of significant interest is ISO 5370&mdash;Determination of Fines Content in Pellets. In prior years, an issue was raised with ISO 18846 (the current method for determining fines content in pellets) whereby it was found that for samples with larger amounts of fines, the method was not sufficient to fully remove the fines from the pellet sample. During the past couple years, a research initiative was conducted to determine how much sieving is necessary to properly remove fines from various types of pelletized materials. The sieving technique was evaluated to better standardize this manual technique, and a validation study was conducted to prove that the new method can be performed in repeatable fashion. As a result, ISO 5370 will soon be released as a committee draft for further development by the international community. When published, ISO 5370 will replace ISO 18846. One of the major differences includes using 20 sieve rotations for samples where fines are expected to be higher than 1% (e.g., 10 rotations still useable for residential pellet markets, but 20 rotations used for industrial markets).&nbsp; In addition to new methods, previously published methods come up for systematic review every five years. This past year has been very busy with these systematic review projects. In particular, several of the previously published specifications and classes documents (ISO 17225-1 through 7) are in the process of systematic review, all of which have had varying levels of modification. If you are currently relying on any of these documents for determining fuel quality, it would be wise to review the updated documents when published. Additionally, ISO TS 17225-8 (specifications and classes for thermally treated solid biofuels) is also up for systematic review.&nbsp; This technical specification is currently being considered for, and will likely be converted to, an international standard. This process is still in very early stages, so anyone producing or planning to produce thermally treated solid biofuels would be wise to engage with the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to review and provide feedback on the up-and-coming changes to this document.&nbsp; Finally, there are also several physical test methods up for systematic review, including those for ash, moisture, volatile matter, length, diameter, bulk density, durability and particle size distribution. Most of these documents will see minor revisions to update method references, alignment with other documents published since their initial adoption, and clarification of language that has proven confusing to method users. Two of these methods&mdash;bulk density and length&mdash;will have substantial modifications. The bulk density method was inherently flawed in that method users have adopted a wide range of techniques for how this method is conducted.&nbsp; The length method is flawed in that it does not provide clear definition for what constitutes the measuring point at each end of the pellet, and when used to assess the percent of overlength pellets, the samples size is far too small to provide a representative result. These issues will be addressed in the revised versions of these methods. The U.S. TAG currently has approximately 50 members and is administered by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. We are always looking for individuals to join our efforts to review these standards as they are developed, ensuring they are well thought out and reflective of U.S. interests in the global solid biofuels industry. If you would like to join the U.S. TAG, please contact Scott Cedarquist at ASABE (cedarq@asabe.org). Author: Chris Wiberg VP of Laboratories, Timber Products Inspection/Biomass Energy Lab <a href="mailto:cwiberg@tpinspection.com">cwiberg@tpinspection.com</a> <a href="http://www.tpinspection.com">www.tpinspection.com </a>
Printed in Issue 2, 2021 of Pellet Mill Magazine

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ISO TC 238 is the International Standards Organization's Technical Committee through which numerous countries around the world are working together to develop standards for solid biofuels.

ISO TC 238: A Year of Robust Activity

In the wood pellet manufacturing industry, many production processes present fire and explosion hazards that must be addressed to ensure workplace safety, protection of assets and avoidance of downtime. In particular, drying and hammermilling of wood material are quite conducive to the generation of sparks and fire within the pneumatic transport system. Other processes such as pelletizing, pellet cooling, screening and product load-out are also subject to possible ignition from sparks, overheated pellets and mechanical friction sources. FLAMEX Inc. has considerable experience in protecting wood pellet manufacturing facilities of all production capacities and understands the specific process protection requirements that these applications demand. The company specializes in the protection of industrial facilities that handle combustible dusts, with capabilities including design, supply, repair and service of complete fire protection systems. To combat the all-too-common problem of dust fires and explosions in woodworking industries, in 1977, FLAMEX pioneered the use of a new technology in North America: the FLAMEX Spark Detection and Extinguishing System. Soon, it became the first system of its kind to gain a Factory Mutual Approval.&nbsp; Since that time, thousands of FLAMEX systems have been installed in a variety of industrial facilities across North America, including many medium and large industrial wood pellet operations. The FLAMEX system offers a number of unique advantages to its users, which includes enhanced reliability, increased effectiveness and ease of maintenance. Automatic detector self-testing function, inline flow monitoring, field-removable IR filter lenses and a self-closing, stainless steel nozzle that emits a 180-degree curtain of water are a few of the features that provide practical benefits in the daily operation and maintenance of these systems. The wide range of detection and suppression offerings allow selection of the proper components for the application instead of a &ldquo;one-size-fits-all&rdquo; approach. Hot particle detectors are often used in downstream applications where the ignition of dust layers from heated pellets are a primary concern. Deluge valve assemblies can be supplied for automatic suppression in bins, collectors and silos, and may be activated by thermal, gas or optical detection. Advanced remote system supervision capabilities include a web module for monitoring the status of the system via the internet and the INVERON HMI software, which can allow multiple systems to be networked, supervised and operated by one or multiple computers from a control room setting. FLAMEX is proud to be a part of the MINIMAX-VIKING organization, a global leader in the development and supply of industrial fire protection technologies and products. The experience, technical expertise and wealth of resources possessed by MINIMAX GmbH &amp; Co. KG, our ISO 9001 manufacturing partner, affords FLAMEX Inc. the ability to offer more comprehensive fire protection solutions to address the requirements of varied industrial applications.
Printed in Issue 2, 2021 of Pellet Mill Magazine

SPOTLIGHT: A Unique, Effective Fire and Explosion Protection Solution

Integrated solutions for prevention and mitigation safeguards Combustible dust poses both fire and explosion hazards in wood pellet facilities. Prevention technologies are the first line of defense. Ignition source monitoring and removal is the basis for proper hazard prevention. Solutions include spark detection systems, bearing temperature monitors, combustion gas detection monitors, and quick suppression water mist systems. Prevention solutions must consider the ignition source potential of the process equipment, and the ignition sensitivity of the dust being handled. Potential ignition sources can range from mechanical sparks to self-heating dust. Wood dust will have different ignition source potential throughout the wood pellet production process. Lower moisture content and smaller particles tend to increase ignition sensitivity. Green material on the front end of the drying process will have a higher moisture content and particle size. Milled wood dust will have the highest ignition source potential because it has been dried and reduced in particle size. Different areas of the wood pellet process introduce different hazards as the dust properties are altered. A dust hazard analysis or DHA is the starting point to help evaluate the different hazards in the process. Detection of hot particles is the key to minimizing loss of revenue and production downtime due to combustible dust incidents. Conventional ultraviolet spark detection systems detect daylight, which dramatically increases the risk of false activations. True infrared detectors are insensitive to daylight and can detect lower energy ignition sources. CV Technology partnered with Firefly AB to integrate true infrared spark detectors with CV&rsquo;s superior explosion mitigation solutions. The goal is to provide customers with complete explosion protection solutions that include prevention and mitigation safeguards. Proper integration of prevention and mitigation systems is a technical challenge encountered in wood pellet process safety. Prevention systems are designed without considerations for the mitigation safeguards. CV Technology provides total solutions that include both prevention and mitigation systems. The company&rsquo;s systems are designed to provide optimal safety against combustible dust with minimal effect on machinery or production.
Printed in Issue 2, 2021 of Pellet Mill Magazine

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Proper integration of prevention and mitigation systems is a technical challenge encountered in wood pellet process safety.

SPOTLIGHT: Fire and Explosion Prevention Technology

One of the primary issues at pellet mill facilities is controlling combustible dust and spillage.&nbsp; Personnel safety and regulatory compliance are also top of mind in the corporate safety culture. Increasingly, maintenance and operations personnel are making use of new tools and leading-edge technologies to ensure that their jobs can be performed efficiently and safely. As a general statement, if maintenance is made easy to perform with minimal downtime, the corporate goals of maximum production can mesh perfectly with maintenance and operations goals to maximize reliability and minimize downtime. Using a &ldquo;toolbox&rdquo; approach to total dust management and spillage control allows the pellet mill industry to address the problems at the source. This philosophy focuses on using safety by design in developing new technologies that are conceived by plant professionals, for use by plant professionals. If maintenance is easy to perform, it will get done. If problems are addressed at the source, the Band-Aid approach can be eliminated. The problems and solutions that combine &ldquo;safety by design&rdquo; with robust products and systems to achieve compliance and improve performance include the following areas of focus: &bull; Lower risk, increase safety, prevent spillage &bull; Reduce cleanup and transfer cost, improve material flow &bull; Regulatory compliance with agencies, NGOs and local community Project Examples The following few examples of recent projects that address above issues.&nbsp; In Example 1, improvements were made to alleviate issues with transfer points and modular load zones at a wood pellet transfer and storage facility. As can be seen in Image 1 and Image 2, a dramatic difference was achieved. No additional dust control measures were necessary to eliminate the problem in this enclosed conveyor system. By controlling material flow and minimizing entrained air along with soft loading and center loading of wood pellets onto the receiving belt, the dust and risks of fire or explosion were reduced well below the acceptable level. Leading edge technologies were utilized to cure the problem at the source. For Example 2, Image 3 and Image 4 demonstrate, at this facility, sliding friction and poor sealing was increasing fire risk at load zone areas using impact beds. The mill workers saw and smelled smoke to indicate a dangerous situation in which combustible material had built up on adjacent structure. The solution to this issue included many leading-edge technologies to cure the problems at the source. These included, but were not limited to, the MaxZone Plus&mdash;a system that acts as a modified load zone chute with an additional way to reduce dust and spillage at the load zone&mdash;and SureGuide Training Idlers, which are belt-centralizing return pulleys made of precision-turned components (see Image 5). In conclusion, doing the same old thing will produce the same old results. New equipment should not be confused with new technology. The products and project results as shown above are due to adopting new technologies. The combination of these technologies solve the problems at the source.&nbsp; Safety by design aims to eliminate issues such as confined space entry required for service, ergonomics for and maintenance, and maintenance made easy so that it can be performed by one person in the field. In addition, rolling components replace sliding components that produce friction and heat, along with special foot patterns and slide-out rollers to make service simple and sealing secure. Modular componentry eliminates the need for hot work in construction, and all internal components are externally serviceable by one person. Material flow is controlled to minimize dust and spillage, and ensure proper belt loading.&nbsp; Above all, regulatory compliance can be achieved, the corporate safety culture is enhanced, and the risk of fire or explosions from combustible dust is eliminated at the source. Author: Greg Bierie Technology Specialist, Benetech Global <a href="mailto:bierieg@benetechusa.com">bierieg@benetechusa.com</a> <a href="https://www.benetechglobal.com">www.benetechglobal.com</a>
Printed in Issue 2, 2021 of Pellet Mill Magazine

Images 1&2: Engineered transfer points and modular load zones: covered storage and transfer of wood pellets. Images 3&4: Slider beds can act as a heat source. Coupled with spillage and dust due to uneven wear and sliding friction, the risk of fire an

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One of the primary issues at pellet mill facilities is controlling combustible dust and spillage.  

Controlling Combustible Dust and Spillage

CV Technology's Interceptor-HRD bottles are NFPA-compliant, high-rate discharge suppression bottles that contain pressurized nitrogen and dry chemical suppressant to suppress a deflagration as it develops.

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Industry experts weigh in on one of the wood pellet industry's most pressing matters.

Tools and Technology for Dust, Fire and Explosion Mitigation

From weathering the coronavirus pandemic, unprecedented wildfires and passage of the BTU Act, the U.S. wood pellet industry experienced an unusual year. But despite a winter that was 7.4% warmer than normal, the U.S. domestic wood pellet industry sold more than 2.18 million tons of wood pellets, just shy of the 2.2 million tons sold in 2019, which was widely acknowledged as a&nbsp; strong year for producers. Heating Degree Days Though warmer than normal, the 2020-&rsquo;21 heating season was 2.5% colder than the previous heating season, according to U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data. February was the only month colder than normal, at 12.5%. The South Atlantic (West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida), Middle Atlantic (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey) and New England (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island) regions experienced the highest variations from HDD averages, at 11%, 10.6% and 10.2%, respectively). Fiber Prices, Volume U.S. wood pellet producers purchased just under 17 million tons of fiber in 2020, with the &ldquo;other residuals&rdquo; category&mdash;bark, logging residue, wood chips, post-consumer wood and unmerchantable wood&mdash;representing the largest portion of purchases at 5.7 million tons. Wood product manufacturing residuals contributed to approximately 4.7 million tons of pellet fiber, followed by sawmill residues at 4.1 million tons and roundwood/pulpwood at 2.4 million tons. Sales, Inventory &amp; Production Domestic wood pellet sales topped 2.18 million tons in 2020, in comparison to 2.2 million tons in 2019. The average price per ton for 2020 was $173.50, compared to $166.25 in the year prior. Breaking down pellet sales and prices by region, the East sold 1.14 million tons, at an average price of approx. $186 per ton. The South came in just under 555,000 tons at an average price of $142 per ton, followed by the West at approximately 488,000 tons at $181 per ton. As for export sales, submitted data indicates nearly 6.9 million tons of wood pellets at an average price $166 per ton, compared to 6.8 million tons at approximately the same price per ton in 2019. In January 2019 and 2020, domestic inventory levels were very similar, trending between 50,000 and 55,000 tons. Pellets on the ground in February and March of 2020 were nearly double that of 2019, but the numbers began to trend closer in June and July, with September 2020 dipping 30,000 tons below September 2019, and leveling out in November. As for industrial pellet inventory, the South&mdash;currently the only region exporting from the U.S.&mdash;averaged roughly 356,000 tons of monthly inventory in 2020. Months with the lowest and highest numbers of inventory were consecutive, with November and December reports indicating approximately 440,000 and 253,000, respectively. Compared to 2019, monthly inventory averaged about 326,000 tons, with January and February representing year lows, at 223,000 and 229,000. Domestic production in 2019 and 2020 were very close despite the challenges brought by 2020, reaching over 1.98 million tons during the year, compared to just above 2 million tons in 2019. The East manufactured 1.19 million tons in 2020&mdash;just 60,000 less than in 2019. The South and West produced 26,000 and 40,000 tons less than the year prior, respectively. Looking at 2021 Initial data for January 2021 has been published, though it will likely be updated as post-deadline reporting comes in. So far, some observations of the initial data includes the following: - For the first time since the report's inception, residential heating pellet producers manufactured more wood pellets in January than in December. Domestic inventory for domestic wood pellets was approximately 80,500 tons in December,&nbsp; jumping to more than 98,000 tons in January. The smallest inventory gap since the report's inception was in December 2016, when it decreased by about 6,000 tons from December through January. The largest inventory gap was in December 2017, when levels decreased by 70,500 tons from December through January. - While inventory levels increased from December to January, sales did not. Approximately 177,000 tons were sold in December, with that number dipping to 134,514 in January. The only other year sales decreased from December to January was in December 2016 through January 2017 (216,915 tons to 180,939). - 391,000 tons of wood pellet export inventory has been reported for January, approximately 25,000 tons more than in January 2020, and 168,000 more than in January 2019. With the pandemic waning in many countries, projects temporarily paused or delayed&mdash;from stay-at-home orders and worksite restrictions to fiber and equipment supply chain issues&mdash;are making headway. That progress, coupled with new U.S. consumer incentives to purchase pellet-consuming appliances (i.e., the BTU Act, which could eventually be expanded to include commercial applications), and rising oil prices, it could&mdash;if Mother Nature cooperates&mdash;set the stage for a better-than-ever season for U.S. wood pellet manufacturers. Author: Anna Simet Editor, Pellet Mill Magazine <a href="mailto:asimet@bbiinternational.com">asimet@bbiinternational.com</a> 701-738-4961
Printed in Issue 2, 2021 of Pellet Mill Magazine

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Pellet Mill Magazine reviews U.S. EIA Monthly Densified Biomass Fuel Report data for 2020.

A  Resilient Year

IEP Technologies introduces IV8 Flameless Vent IEP Technologies has introduced the IV8 Flameless Explosion Vent, the latest addition to its range of passive explosion protection solutions. The IV8 provides a solution for process vessels that are located inside a building or areas where standard explosion venting cannot be safely employed. With a single IV8 certified to protect up to 12.3 cubic meters, IEP can now provide a maximum protected volume of 49.2 cubic meters. Enclosed within a durable carbon steel coated frame, the IV8 employs a unique folding mechanism for the integrated stainless steel relief vent and flame-arresting mesh. The integrated vent burst detection sensor allows plant personnel to respond accordingly in the event of an explosion within the protected application. King, Collins introduce updated BTU Act Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, on April 20 announced the reintroduction of an updated Biomass Thermal Utilization Act, which aims to provide tax credits for commercial and industrial wood heating appliances. It would also extend and increase the existing residential tax credit.&nbsp; The tax credit for residential wood heating appliances was established last year. Currently, it applies to the installed cost of home heating and hot water systems that utilize wood pellets, chips and cordwood at efficiencies greater than 75 percent high heat value. The ITC is for 26 percent in 2021 and phases down to 22 percent in 2022 and 2023. The King and Collins bill would enact a similar credit for commercial and industrial applications and increase and extend the existing residential credit through 2028. The bill would also restore the existing Section 25 ITC for residential wood heating systems to 30 percent, while extending the credit through 2028. Lignetics buys Great Lakes Renewable Energy Generational Capital Markets recently announced the sale of its client, Great Lakes Renewable Energy Inc., to Lignetics Inc. Located in Hayward, Wisconsin, GLRE Energy is a wood pellet manufacturer specializing in BBQ wood pellets, primarily under the Lumber Jack Grilling Pellets brand. The company is the only round log pellet mill in the world that has devoted its future capacity to producing this product, and it is the only mill making a 5.5 millimeter pellet. GLRE serves over 1,200 recurring customers in various BBQ sub sectors across the globe including seasoning, sporting goods, leisure and professional meat-smoking companies. Lignetics, headquartered in Louisville, Colorado, is the largest residential wood pellet manufacturing company in the U.S. It has a production capacity of over 1.2 million tons of wood pellets per year and owns 17 manufacturing plants across the country. Drax completes acquisition of Pinnacle Drax Group plc announced on April 13 that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc. The transaction increases Drax&rsquo;s annual wood pellet production capacity to 4.9 million metric tons by 2022, up from 1.6 million metric tons pre-acquisition. Pinnacle is the second-largest producer of industrial wood pellets in the world. The company operates nine production facilities in western Canada and one in Alabama. An additional facility is under construction in Alabama, with more in development. Pinnacle also owns a port terminal in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The transaction boosts Drax&rsquo;s wood pellet production capacity by 2.9 million metric tons. With the addition of Pinnacle&rsquo;s 11 sites, Drax owns 17 pellet plants and development projects. Renova begins construction on Japan biomass plant Japan-based Renova Inc. announced on April 1 that construction is underway on its Omaezakikou Biomass Power Plant, a 75-MW facility under development approximately 150 miles southwest of Tokyo in Omaezaki and Makinohara, Shizuoka Prefecture. The plant will be fueled with wood pellets and palm kernel shells. Commercial operations are expected to commence in July 2023. The facility is being developed in partnership with three cosponsors, including Chubu Electric Power Co. Inc., Suzuyo Shoji Co. Ltd. and Mitsubishi Electric Credit Corp. The Omaezakikou Biomass Power Plant is one of several bioenergy projects developed by Renova. The company&rsquo;s biomass generation portfolio also currently includes the 20.5 MW Akita Biomass Power Plant, which began operations in mid-2016, and the Kanda and Tokushima Tsuda biomass power plants that&nbsp; are currently under construction.
Printed in Issue 2, 2021 of Pellet Mill Magazine

2021 Issue 2 Pellet Mill Magazine

Columns

Despite Everything, 2020 Was Strong for Pellet Producers

Good Housekeeping is Priceless

ISO TC 238: A Year of Robust Activity

Featured

Tools and Technology for Dust, Fire and Explosion Mitigation

A Resilient Year

Contributions

Controlling Combustible Dust and Spillage

Departments

SPOTLIGHT: A Unique, Effective Fire and Explosion Protection Solution

SPOTLIGHT: Fire and Explosion Prevention Technology

2021 Issue 2 Pellet Mill Magazine.css-7jxktu{position:absolute;bottom:0px;left:0px;right:0px;height:3px;border-radius:3px;background-color:var(--chakra-colors-brandBlack);}

Columns

Despite Everything, 2020 Was Strong for Pellet Producers

Good Housekeeping is Priceless

ISO TC 238: A Year of Robust Activity

Featured

Tools and Technology for Dust, Fire and Explosion Mitigation

A Resilient Year

Contributions

Controlling Combustible Dust and Spillage

Departments

SPOTLIGHT: A Unique, Effective Fire and Explosion Protection Solution

SPOTLIGHT: Fire and Explosion Prevention Technology

2021 Issue 2 Pellet Mill Magazine