Polish company to start new pellet plant in March 2012

Polish company Fiten plans to start production of corn straw pellets in the southwest of Poland, joining a number of suppliers seeking to benefit from rising demand for biomass.

Katowice-based Fiten, which until now has specialized in energy trading, intends to expand its business into biomass and biogas suppliers.
The new plant will be operational in March and will initially produce 30 000 t/yr of corn straw pellets, but within three years its capacity is planned to reach 100 000 t/yr.
Demand for biomass in Poland is rising as electricity producers invest in new biomass generators and increase co-firing levels. The Polish chamber of biomass estimates that total demand for biomass in energy sector in 2011 reached 6 mn t, an increase of 20 pc from the previous year.