Dalkia, together with Fengate Capital Management, will build a 40MW biomass power plant in Canada.

To be located in Merritt, British Columbia, the power plant is claimed to be the largest in North America along with the Fort St James plant, also developed by Dalkia and Fengate Capital Management.

To be built under a design, finance, build, operate and maintain (DFBOM) contract, Dalkia will be responsible for industrial management and maintenance of the facilities, biomass supply and preparation services.

The plant will produce electricity by consuming 307,000kg of biomass a year, which will mainly be sawmill waste. Supply will be managed by Dalkia and sourced from local sawmills.

Power generated from the project will be supplied to BC Hydro & Power Authority to power almost 40,000 Canadian households.

During the construction phase the project will create around 250 jobs and 80 new direct and indirect jobs during the plant’s 30-year operation.

Fengate Capital Management will provide financing for the plant, together with a number of international and Canadian banks. As for Fort St James, Dalkia and Fengate Capital Management have contracted Iberdrola Engineering & Construction to build the plant.

Dalkia expects the project to generate cumulative operating and biomass sales of more than €540m (CAD790m) over the contract’s 30-year term.

Veolia chairman and CEO of Antoine Frérot said: “After Fort St James, construction of which started at the end of 2013, the Merritt biomass power plant will be one of the largest and most efficient in North America. Here again, Dalkia has confirmed its globally unparalleled expertise in biomass plants. Our cooperation with Fengate Capital Management enables us to provide our customers with the best of our combined expertise: the design and operation of the most complex facilities on the one hand, and asset financing on the other.”

Dalkia is a subsidiary of Veolia Environnement and Electricité de France.