Biomass supplier Enviva Partners said yesterday it was expecting "significant growth in demand" as major facilities progress in Europe.

In a financial announcement covering its third quarter result the company said it would supply a total of 200,000 tonnes of wood pellets to Ørsted (formerly known as DONG Energy).  

The contract with Ørsted, which is expected to start "late" next year and run until the middle of 2021, will support the ongoing conversion of power stations from coal to biomass by both businesses.

In the past few days, Ørsted has opened the fully biomass converted Skærbæk plant and has started to convert its Asnæs facility.

US-based Enviva also reconfirmed a deal to supply 450,000 tonnes of wood pellets to France-based multinational Engie until 2019.

In Belgium, Engie has been granted a five-year extension to run its Max Green power plant in Ghent on biomass, according to the announcement. It uses about 800,000t of wood pellets at full capacity.

Enviva also cited the 85MWe biomass-fired plant in Grangemouth, Scotland, which is backed by contract for difference (CfD) and the CfD’s third round planned for spring 2019 as positive factors for the future.

Enviva is looking at Germany’s biomass conversion of coal-fired plants as a potential source for contracts while Japan and South Korea are increasingly good markets.