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MERRITT HERALD FREE
TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2014 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS
STUDENT SEND-OFF First Nations dancers usher in NVIT’s class of 2014 at the Civic Centre on Thursday. This year, NVIT sent off 110 students graduates — its largest graduating class ever. See the full story on page 3. Michael Potestio/Herald
Pellet plant to start production in fall By Emily Wessel THE HERALD
newsroom@merrittherald.com
Merritt’s long-vacant pellet plant is being revitalized by a new company. Diacarbon Energy, a Burnabybased bioenergy company, has moved into the property and plant on Priest Avenue and is putting about $9 million in changes into the infrastructure in order to begin production of wood pellets and biocoal by this fall. Construction at the plant will be underway in the next few weeks, Diacarbon president and CEO Jerry Ericsson said, and
about 15 people are needed to work during the construction phase. Once it’s operational, about 25 permanent jobs will be located on-site, he said. Those positions will range from general labourers to equipment operators to maintenance staff. “We’re looking at about 15 during construction time, which would start now, essentially, and then around 25 to 30. We’re still narrowing down what the exact number will be for operations,” Ericsson said, noting the project is in its early stages. Work was already underway
at the site last week: the sawdust dryer arrived from Germany on Wednesday, and will start being built on June 1. “It’s all kind of happening right now, so it’s exciting,” Ericsson said. In the coming weeks, part of the three lots at the site will be paved as well to mitigate dust spread, he said. The pellet plant, which was built in 2010, was originally funded by the federal government and a local businessman, but the plant sat unoperational after the funding fell through. Chilliwack-based Jake’s Con-
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struction closed the purchase on the property earlier this year, and Diacarbon’s lease at the site took over March 1. Ericsson said he and his father formed Diacarbon in response to the federal government’s creation of the carbon tax. He said the company is built on the idea that industry and the environment don’t have to be at odds. “I believe you can have a healthy industry and environment, and that’s how I’ve lived my life,” Ericsson said. The team of scientists and engineers spent the next six years
developing technology to produce energy from wood through a process called torréfaction, which is French for roasting. The development of that technology was aided by almost $3 million in grants, he said. “We thought that it was a great place to start up a business like this. “We’re looking at actually installing this wood roaster at the Merritt facility,” he said. Diacarbon uses wood waste from other industries to produce biocoal and wood pellets.
See ‘Merritt facility’ Page 2
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