Still no start date for pellet plant

There is still no time frame for a new pellet mill's construction, says a spokesman for local woodlot owners.

Northumberland Woodlot Owners Association president Frank MacLaughlin said he would give more information about when the plant will open if he had it. "We're still working on getting it here," he said.

Last winter, the woodlot owners association teamed up with European sustainable-energy company BioResource to build a pellet plant in the Miramichi.

Construction was supposed to begin in the fall with a summer 2009 opening date, but work has yet to start on the project.

A report prepared by CIBC World Markets Inc. and Woodbridge Associates Inc. for Business New Brunswick in June concluded wood pellets are one of the least desirable forestry products.

MacLaughlin said there is always a slant in reports the government puts out. "I don't put much stock in studies the government does."

European companies have faith the project will work and have done the research to make sure it is feasible, he said. "These are the people that are gonna put their money into it."

MacLaughlin said there have been a few stumbling blocks along the way.

"You move ahead one step, back two or three."

It still seems positive they are going to be able to make it work, he said. "I know there's a future in it."

MacLaughlin said he hopes to see work start by the spring, but doesn't know for sure when it will get underway.

"I won't even make a guess now."

Northumberland Forest Product Marketing Board president Jean Guy Comeau said he didn't want to put a date on it either, but would as soon as possible. "Our aim and our effort are going forward every day."

The pellet mill won't solve all the problems in the forestry industry, but it will help, he said.

"We think we are on the right track to stabilize the market for our wood."

Comeau said there are no pellets available now and he expects oil prices to go up again. "I think that's what makes this project viable in the future."

Governments should look at more diversity for energy and smaller projects like the pellet mill, he said. "They have to look at all these types of things."

Miramichi-Bay du Vin MLA Bill Fraser said it has been a few weeks since he heard anything about the plant's progress. "I haven't heard anything new really. "

The plant is a local idea with local support, and anything new would benefit the community, he said. "I do certainly support the concept they have."