Pinnacle Renewable Energy Group has announced they have finalized a contract to sell 70,000 metric tonnes of wood pellets annually to a Japanese conglomerate, Ube Industries Ltd., by the end of 2019.

“Japan has made a strong commitment to decarbonization, and biomass is poised to become an increasingly important part of the country’s energy mix,” said Robert McCurdy, Pinnacle’s CEO.

According to the report in the Terrace Standard, the long-term take-or-pay contract guarantees Pinnacle Renewable Energy Group will receive payment for its pellets — even if future demand decreases in Japan.

Biomass fuels, including wood pellets, are in high demand in Japan. The demand for wood pellets is buoyed by a feed-in tariff, which is a system where independent producers are paid for their contributions to the national grid. This is already established as part of Japan’s carbon-reduction program, as a result, independent biomass power plants have proliferated across the country.

See full report here.