Pinnacle's Japan contract will benefit Westview Terminal shipments, but not for a few years yet

A new contract with a Japanese company will mean more shipments
through Pinnacle Energy's Westview Terminal, however
it will be a few years before the shipments head overseas

It's another major contract for Pinnacle Renewable Energy, with the British Columbia based company heralding a long term contract with Mitsui and Company of Japan, a long term deal which will see 100,000 metric tons of British Columbia and Alberta produced pellets per year shipped to Asia, their final destination that of use in a biomass power generation plant in Japan.

The deal which comes as British Columbia's forest product's industry faces some tough times, was announced on Thursday, with Pinnacle's Chief Executive Officer Robert McCurdy making note of the latest market to be tapped by the company.

"We are pleased to enter into this new relationship with Mitsui and our fourth contract with Asian customers this year. Our growing order book in Japan underscores both Japan's strong commitment to decarbonization and the strength of our competitive position in this market. We are also pleased to support the B.C. economy through our growing exports of industrial wood pellets to Asia."

Premier Horgan, who has been looking for some positive news to come out of a spring and summer of woe for the provinces forest industry was also making sure to spread the word of the deal.

"I am excited about this new partnership between Pinnacle Renewable Energy and Mitsui & Co, which uses B.C. wood waste to generate good jobs in B.C. and power clean, renewable electricity in Japan,"

The Premier also celebrated the deal on social media, with a twitter shout out that rattled off a few of the positives from the day's news.

And while the Premier is correct in noting the opportunities that the deal will provide for, the impact won't be quite as quick as some might be led to believe, with the contract of supply to Mistui and Company not scheduled to take effect until the third quarter of 2023.

That means that any increased level of shipments related to the contract out of the Westview Terminal on Prince Rupert's waterfront, won't arrive until the midway point of that year, still close to four years away.

For the more immediate prospects, just last month Pinnacle had issued an Expected Guidance Shortfall notice for this fiscal year, observing how sawmill curtailments in British Columbia have had an impact on their fiscal projections.

They did note however, that operational improvements and growing diversification, as well as work on export contracts (such as the Mistui one announced Thursday) should help improve margins.

For more items of interest on the Pinnacle plans see our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.