After just under a year of construction, Pinnacle Renewable Resources is in the final stages of construction for its pellet export operation at Westview Terminal.
"We should be all wrapped up with construction around the third week of October, which will allow us to start running tests on the equipment. We will do commissioning work over the course of several weeks and expect the first ship to arrive in November," said Pinnacle president and chief operating officer Leroy Reitsma.
"We're down to planning things in weeks instead of months, which is pretty exciting ... it's going to be nice it it start to run."
Metro Ports Canada was selected as the terminal operator in July to oversee the day-to-day operations of the facility, and Reitsma said hiring for the terminal will be happening soon.
"The hiring for positions will commence in approximately 10 days, but a lot of that is being handled with the First Nations we have agreements with and through the International Longshore and Warehouse Union," he said.
The first pour of concrete for the three silo structure at the waterfront took place on Oct. 31 last year. The terminal, which cost approximately $42 million to construct, will provide the capacity to export two million tonnes of wood pellets annually, creating a strategic trade gateway for the expanding bio-fuel industry across Northern British Columbia. Pinnacle operates six pellet manufacturing facilities in the communities of Houston, Burns Lake, Meadowbank, Quesnel, Williams Lake and Armstrong, supporting 350 jobs in those operations.