SBP has today welcomed news of the first Biomass Producer certification. NSF International (NSF), an SBP-approved Certification Body, has announced that it has certified the Aliceville, Alabama facility of US pellet producer, Westervelt Renewable Energy LLC (Westervelt).
The SBP certificate issued to Westervelt covers the manufacture of woody biomass pellets, transportation of the pellets to the Port of Mobile, Alabama and the trading of woody biomass pellets.
Commenting on the certification of Westervelt, Peter Wilson, Executive Director of SBP, said, “We are delighted at the news of Westervelt’s certification, as the first of its kind this is a landmark in the implementation of the SBP Framework”.
Under the SBP Framework the Biomass Producer, typically a pellet or wood chip mill, is the first point of certification. The Biomass Producer is assessed for compliance with the SBP requirements, specifically that the feedstock it uses, for example, roundwood, sawdust and/or wood chips, is compliant with SBP requirements – essentially that it is sourced both legally and sustainably.
That assessment must be carried out by an independent, third-party Certification Body. A Biomass Producer that satisfactorily demonstrates compliance receives a certificate and is entitled to make the claim that the biomass it produces is SBP-compliant.
