Posted: June 21, 2011 - 12:00am
An explosion damaged the Georgia Biomass wood pellet processing plant near Waycross early Monday, crippling production at the factory that began operations a little more than a month ago.
No injuries were reported in the blast that occurred about 8 a.m. at the plant in the Waycross-Ware County Industrial Park about five miles west of Waycross off U.S. 82 and U.S. 1.
"It did extensive damage to the processing end. ... They'll probably be down an extended period of time," Ware County Fire Chief Dennis Keen told the Times-Union.
Georgia Biomass is a subsidiary of RWE Innogy of Germany, one of the top five electricity and gas companies in Europe. An estimated $175 million investment, the factory is deemed "the world's largest wood pellet plant."
Plant manager Ken Ciarletta, however, said the damage looks worse than it actually is.
"I wouldn't say the damage is extensive. It's in a very small portion of our facility," said Ciarletta, who described the incident as "a small fire."
Plant operations, however, have been suspended.
"We're off line because of it," Ciarletta said "We haven't determined how long we'll be off line. We're still in the assessment mode."
As they assess the damage, company officials are searching for the "root cause" of the problem, so they can resolve it and prevent future mishaps, Ciarletta said.
Employing about 80 people, the plant began operating May 12. Using yellow pine timber from throughout Southeast Georgia, its goal is to produce about 750,000 tons of wood pellets annually. Wood pellets are used as fuel — a cleaner-burning substitute for coal — primarily in Europe.
"Fortunately, no one was in the area of the explosion when it occurred," said Keen, who praised the company's fire suppression system and emergency procedures.
Ciarletta said the plant was evacuated "to ensure proper control of the situation."
"They made sure everyone got out all right and were accounted for." Keen said.
Keen stationed a fire truck at the plant Monday as a precaution against flare-ups or other problems as authorities and company officials searched for the blast's cause.
It's possible, Keen said, that dust might have caused the explosion.
"It may take several days to figure out what caused it," Keen said.
Describing it as a "flash-type explosion," Keen said the blast damaged equipment included a cooler, a section of the conveyor belt system and a storage hopper for the pellets.
Firefighters arrived in less than five minutes after the blast, which some residents said rattled windows in homes about five miles away near the Okefenokee Heritage Center.
Because it was early in the investigation, a dollar estimate of the damage wasn't available, Keen said.
"The most important thing is, nobody got hurt. Thank God," Ciarletta said.
teresa.stepzinski@jacksonville.com, (912) 264-0405
No injuries were reported in the blast that occurred about 8 a.m. at the plant in the Waycross-Ware County Industrial Park about five miles west of Waycross off U.S. 82 and U.S. 1.
"It did extensive damage to the processing end. ... They'll probably be down an extended period of time," Ware County Fire Chief Dennis Keen told the Times-Union.
Georgia Biomass is a subsidiary of RWE Innogy of Germany, one of the top five electricity and gas companies in Europe. An estimated $175 million investment, the factory is deemed "the world's largest wood pellet plant."
Plant manager Ken Ciarletta, however, said the damage looks worse than it actually is.
"I wouldn't say the damage is extensive. It's in a very small portion of our facility," said Ciarletta, who described the incident as "a small fire."
Plant operations, however, have been suspended.
"We're off line because of it," Ciarletta said "We haven't determined how long we'll be off line. We're still in the assessment mode."
As they assess the damage, company officials are searching for the "root cause" of the problem, so they can resolve it and prevent future mishaps, Ciarletta said.
Employing about 80 people, the plant began operating May 12. Using yellow pine timber from throughout Southeast Georgia, its goal is to produce about 750,000 tons of wood pellets annually. Wood pellets are used as fuel — a cleaner-burning substitute for coal — primarily in Europe.
"Fortunately, no one was in the area of the explosion when it occurred," said Keen, who praised the company's fire suppression system and emergency procedures.
Ciarletta said the plant was evacuated "to ensure proper control of the situation."
"They made sure everyone got out all right and were accounted for." Keen said.
Keen stationed a fire truck at the plant Monday as a precaution against flare-ups or other problems as authorities and company officials searched for the blast's cause.
It's possible, Keen said, that dust might have caused the explosion.
"It may take several days to figure out what caused it," Keen said.
Describing it as a "flash-type explosion," Keen said the blast damaged equipment included a cooler, a section of the conveyor belt system and a storage hopper for the pellets.
Firefighters arrived in less than five minutes after the blast, which some residents said rattled windows in homes about five miles away near the Okefenokee Heritage Center.
Because it was early in the investigation, a dollar estimate of the damage wasn't available, Keen said.
"The most important thing is, nobody got hurt. Thank God," Ciarletta said.
teresa.stepzinski@jacksonville.com, (912) 264-0405
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