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(Alliance News) - Active Energy Group PLC on Wednesday said that production of its CoalSwitch fuel pellet has begun in Ashland in the US state of Maine following the swift construction of a 5 tonne per hour production facility.
The London-based renewable energy company entered a joint venture with Player Design Inc to develop its second fuel pellet production facility, as announced in May. CoalSwitch fuel, which is a coal replacement, is made of low-value forestry, agricultural residue and other energy yielding crops.
The facility was given an operating permit from the state of Maine to produce 1,000 tonnes of CoalSwitch by no later than the end of July. The company will then supply the state of Maine with emissions data from this initial round of production. After which the joint venture will apply to extend the permit, allowing the Ashland Facility to produce up to 35,000 tonnes of CoalSwitch each year.
Active Energy will deliver the first order of CoalSwitch in mid-June to US-based electric power company PacifiCorp's Hunter Valley power plant in Utah.
Active Energy Chief Executive Michael Rowan said: "We are delighted to have successfully commissioned the Ashland Facility and to have begun production of CoalSwitch. This is part of [Active Energy]'s plan to have two operational CoalSwitch plants on the east coast of the US during 2021... We will now proceed to deliver CoalSwitch to PacifiCorp on time and accelerate the CoalSwitch fuel testing programme."
Active Energy shares were trading up 14% at 0.79 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
By Scarlett Butler; scarlettbutler@alliancenews.com
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