The Georgia Ports Authority signed a partnership Aug. 11 with a Canadian cargo handling company to increase the capacity of Brunwick’s East River Terminal to export biomass.
Logistec USA Inc., a subsidiary of Montreal’s Logistec Corp., is to invest $5 million to deepen three of the port’s berths and upgrade the docks and handling facility to specialize in exporting wood pellets to be burned for power production.
Logistec currently stores and handles wood and peanut pellets at the Brunswick port for export to European power companies, particularly in the United Kingdom and Scandinavian countries.
The upgrades are designed to capitalize on long-term growth in the renewable energy industry. European firms have been keen to tap south Georgia’s forestry resources for biomass production. Georgia Biomass LLC, a German–Swedish joint venture, opened May 12 in Waycross with the goal of producing 826,000 tons of wood coal annually.
The expansion of the East River Terminal will begin in September and is to be completed by January.