Scottish wood pellets from Invergordon

I had the opportunity to see round the BALCAS wood pellet plant at Invergordon, north of Inverness last week.  With the capacity to produce over 100,000 tonnes of wood pellets each year, the plant is the largest in the UK.

The business model is simple - they buy in logs, use half the fibre to make pellets and the other half of the woody material to run a furnace.  The steam from the boiler runs an electricity turbine which provides power for all the machinery on site and exports the surplus to the grid.  The steam dries the smaller chips ready to be pulverised and made into wood pellets.  The pellets are sold all over the UK and delivered by specialist lorries.

BALCAS are keen to buy in more wood, so if you have a forest, no matter how poor its quality for other purposes, BALCAS want to hear from you!

More details of their products are at www.brites.eu

Photo shows logs arriving and being de-barked prior to chipping.