The French renewable energy producer Albioma has acquired the La Granaudière wood pellet plant, located in Lanaudière, which, due to financial difficulties, had to close its doors after only six months of activity and nearly $30 million in financial aid from Quebec. Production will resume in the coming months.
The amount of the transaction has not been made public. In an email sent to Duty, the French producer says it wants to invest in Quebec infrastructure over the next few months so that annual production reaches 200,000 tonnes of wood pellets.
Restart in progress
“The restart is in progress” and the resumption of production should take place “in the coming months”, indicates Charlotte Neuvy, Albioma’s communications manager.
Albioma’s activities essentially revolve around energy transition and renewable energies, such as biomass, solar and geothermal energy. The French group is present in France, Mauritius, Brazil, Turkey and now in Quebec.
This first acquisition in Canada enables Albioma to collect long-term commitments from the Saint-Michel-des-Saints plant, which produces wood pellets from forest biomass: a storage contract for 45,000 tonnes of pellets at the Port of Quebec and raw material supply guarantees from the Quebec Ministry of Forests, Wildlife and Parks.
“The acquisition of La Granaudière by Albioma will bring economic benefits. In this context, this is good news for the region,” said the Duty the Minister of the Economy of Quebec, Pierre Fitzgibbon.
However, the plant had to stop its activities in July because of financial difficulties resulting from the collapse of pellet prices. Over the past year, these have been affected by the economic slowdown in Europe, which has curbed pellet consumption.
Last August, it was as creditors that Investissement Québec and Desjardins filed a request with the Superior Court to declare the company insolvent. The accounting firm Raymond Chabot was then mandated to find a buyer. According to the terms of the transaction with Albioma – which have not been detailed – part of the debt will be reimbursed to creditors.
27 million from Quebec
Substantial financial assistance from Quebec enabled the construction and start-up of the plant. According to information provided by Investissement Québec, grants and loans have totaled nearly $29 million since 2019.
The acquisition of La Granaudière by Albioma will bring economic benefits. In this context, this is good news for the region.
In 2020, the plant made its first overseas deliveries. In May 2021, it announced the signing of a supply contract of $40 million per year for 10 years with the ENGIE Group, a major European electricity supplier. And it was a few weeks later that it announced its closure.
Albioma’s pellet production on Quebec soil will be used to supply its thermal power stations in Guadeloupe and Martinique. The latter run entirely on biomass, according to information provided by the company. At the time of the acquisition, made on December 24, Albioma’s CEO, Frédéric Moyne, declared: “Thanks to this transaction, which provides access to pellet production capacity that meets the most stringent requirements in In terms of sustainability, Albioma is continuing and stepping up its commitment to energy transition overseas. »