Chipley Kiwanis hear from Green Circle Bio

Wood pellets and the processes to convert lumber into a usable product were thoroughly explained during the Kiwanis Club luncheon meeting by representatives of Green Circle Bio Energy, Inc., a JCE Group Company. Construction is nearly completed at the new $104 million pellet plant in Cottondale, with initial equipment testing just starting. Bill Waller, Manager, Wood Procurement, and Danny Duce, Assistant Manager, Wood Procurement, brought with them some of the first wood pellets produced.

As part of the presentation, Bill Waller explained with projected pictures how trees are converted into wood pellets by reducing logs to chips, drying the chips to about 8% moisture content from 50%, and then grinding and forming the wood into pellet forms. The plant will obtain wood from tree farmers within a 50 to 60 mile radius of Cottondale, and Andy Andreasen, Washington County Extension Agent, pointed out that about 191,000 acres in Washington County are planted in trees, which represents about 49% of all acres in the county.

Bill Waller reminded everyone that the wood pellet business is sustainable in this area due to the large amount of tree farms in the tri-state area. While it takes about 30 years to grow the best size tree, as long as the acreage is replanted in trees after each harvesting, there would be no shortage of lumber to meet production needs of the plant. Trees harvested are marketed to multiple production uses with the wood pellet needs taking the top portion of the tree, and lumber mills or pulp producers taking the remainder. When Green Circle purchases the tree production, it undertakes the complete marketing program so the grower only makes one sale.

Wood pellets are shipped by rail from Cottondale to the special warehouse that has been constructed at Port Panama City. All handling of the pellets from rail car loading at the plant to on-board a ship is automated. Major customers at this time are electrical generating plants in Belgium and Holland, with more being added as production increases. Wood pellets are mixed with pulverized coal and injected as fuel into heaters used to create steam to drive the electric generators. This will be a growing market as many nations are changing their laws to require that coal-fired plants reduce fossil fuel emissions to 1990 levels in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol promoted by the United Nations to its members and all nations of the world to reduce environmental impacts from industrialized areas.

Additional information can be obtained from the Green Circle Website, www.greencirclebio.com or by calling Danny Duce at 850-832-1469.

The Kiwanis Club of Chipley has been serving the youth of Washington County for over 67 years, and last year provided financial support to over 30 recipient groups/activities.

The Kiwanis Club meets Tuesdays at Noon in Pattillo’s Restaurant at WHTC (in the middle of the WHTC campus). Anyone interested in membership information can contact any Kiwanian or David Solger, membership chairperson, at 638-1276.

Next on the fund raising event calendar are the annual golf tournament and then the Dinner Theatre in early autumn. Additionally, the Kiwanis Club will be supporting the annual Kids Fishing Day on May 10 with funding and volunteer workers.