The event, hosted by Wood Bioenergy magazine, will be held April 11-12 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Organizers announced that the lineup of eight keynote presentations has been completed with the addition of Rob McCurdy, CEO of Pinnacle Renewable Energy.
McCurdy will address “Pinnacle’s Pursuit to Own Safety and Drive Results in the Wood Pellet Industry.”
Based in Western Canada, Pinnacle Renewable Energy currently operates six pellet plants throughout British Columbia producing more than 1.4 million tonnes annually.
However, much of McCurdy’s talk will address Pinnacle’s seventh plant, a new one the company is constructing in Entwistle, Alberta. The 400,000 tonnes plant is expected to produce pellets this spring. The company is looking at other options as well for future growth.
“I believe this is the best lineup of keynoters we’ve had since we started this event in 2010,” comments Rich Donnell, co-chairman of the conference and editor-in-chief of Wood Bioenergy magazine. “April is a busy month for wood energy events, but ours is up first and from what I’ve seen our list of speakers finishes first as well.”
Other keynoters on tap include Thomas Meth, co-founder and executive vice president of sales and marketing, Enviva; Richard Peberdy, vice president Sustainability, Drax Biomass; Thomas Reilley, chairman, Highland Pellets; William Strauss, president, FutureMetrics; Dr. Rich Vlosky, director, Louisiana Forest Products Development Center; Clay Crosby, CEO, Twin Rivers Land & Timber; Andrew Johnson, vice president, TSI.
In addition to the keynoters who address the entire attendance, the conference includes numerous specialty sessions on new technologies and developments in industrial wood pellets, biomass power, in-woods chipping and fiber procurement.
Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo will also feature 65 exhibitor sponsors set up in the Grand Ballroom North of the Omni Hotel.