Canada-headed forest industry major Groupe Lebel Inc., has announced that it is investing in a new wood pellet plant on its Cacouna wood processing site in Québec (QC).
A family-held enterprise, Groupe Lebel is a leading forest products company in Eastern Canada with over 1 200 employees in its 19 sawmills, value-added product plants, and head office in Québec (QC), Ontario (ON), and across the border in the US state of Maine (ME).
According to the company, the sustainability of its forest and wood processing operations is crucial to the mission of this family business.
The plant will help us optimize our growth plan. as it will give us an outlet for unsold by-products and processed wood affected by the spruce budworm, explained Louis-Frédéric Lebel, President and CEO of Groupe Lebel.
Further, Cacouna was a highly strategic choice of location for the future plant “since it’s close to the Port of Gros-Cacouna and our primary processing activities.”
Financial support
According to Groupe Lebel, the estimated CA$40 million project has received a financial contribution of nearly CA$15 million from key partners.
The Québec Ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation granted the company a CA$12 million loan.
The Ministère de l’Énergie et des Ressources naturelles du Québec contributed CA$1.75 million, which includes monies from Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Finally, the Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs is contributing CA$1 million via its Innovation Bois program.
Prodesa selected as EPC
The first phase of the plant’s operations will begin in 2023 with an annual capacity of nearly 100 000 tonnes of wood pellets. Groupe Lebel aims to ship the majority of its production to growing international markets.
Pierre-Olivier Morency, Director of Lebel Énergie, a Groupe Lebel subsidiary added that “the long-term market outlook in Europe is very good, especially for coal substitution. This is an environmentally sound project that both strengthens our sawmill operations and fights climate change.”
We are very pleased to have entrusted the process engineering and project execution to Prodesa. This international player in the construction of wood pellet production plants builds turnkey facilities in Europe, Asia, and North America. Prodesa provides us with extensive expertise in process and performance guarantees, said Louis-Frédéric Lebel acknowledging local partners who, through their professionalism and dedication, are already contributing to this large-scale project.
With this investment, Groupe Lebel expects to create two dozen jobs in Cacouna and help maintain forestry jobs in the region.
This project is in keeping with the strategic orientations for the port, laid out by the Société portuaire du Bas-Saint-Laurent et de la Gaspésie and approved by the Ministère des Transports du Québec. The Corporation is pleased to support Groupe Lebel’s expansion project, which will have major benefits for the Lower St. Lawrence and Gaspé regions, noted Anne Dupéré, CEO of the Société portuaire du Bas-Saint-Laurent et de la Gaspésie.
