A state-of-the-art wood pellet production facility developed in Launceston by Neville Smith Forest Products has won this year’s prestigious Tasmanian EPA Sustainability Award. Source: Timberbiz
The pellet plant, located at the company’s Mowbray Dry Mill, can recover more than 3000 tonnes a year of sawdust and off-cuts and turn it into high value pellets for use in domestic heating.
The EPA Sustainability Award acknowledges those businesses which have developed and implemented cleaner production initiatives that deliver measurable improvements in preventing pollution, conserving energy and water, minimising waste, and maximising resource efficiency.
CEO of Neville Smith Forest Products, Mr Andrew Walker, said wood pellets were becoming increasingly popular as a sustainable bio-fuel alternative for use in pellet heaters, hydronic pellet boilers, outdoor pellet barbecues and food smokers. When used in modern devices, bio-energy pellets produced a consistently high level of ambient heat, were easy to refill, and generated minimal smoke.
Mr Walker said wood pellets provided a fuel source that helped reduce methane output as well as the need for landfill, while supporting the increased sustainability of Tasmania’s forests.
“The development of our Mowbray pellet plant is aligned with our company’s waste minimisation strategy and is a tangible demonstration of NSFP’s commitment to sustainability, renewable energy, domestic processing and regional employment,” Mr Walker said.
“In recent years, and in line with US and European technological trends, thousands of Tasmanian households have converted from traditional wood heaters, to clean burning, efficient pellet heaters.”
With operations in the Huon Valley, Warrane and Mowbray, the Neville Smith family has operated in Tasmania since 1924, employs over 120 Tasmanians directly, and many more indirectly.
