Balcas Energy Powers Brilliant Tomorrows
To help attract thousands of new renewable energy customers across the UK & Ireland, Balcas has rebranded its brites wood pellets business as Balcas Energy. By reconnecting to the core Balcas name, the wood pellet division is underlining its unique environmental credentials.
Business Development Director of Balcas Energy, Ian McCracken commented, “We believe everyone is aware of the impact climate change is having on our environment and that one of the main drivers of climate change is greenhouse gas emissions from using fossil fuels. Our society depends on an ever-increasing demand for energy. Balcas Energy makes low cost renewable energy a reality, immediately for our customers. We bring people the power to choose renewable by making it more reliable 12 months a year. In doing this, our ultimate goal is to make it easier for people in business and at home to decarbonise their heat source”.
Balcas Energy’s policy of only ever harvesting trees from local managed forests and always planting 4 for every tree harvested, brings two key benefits. Firstly, the carbon released into the atmosphere is offset by the carbon absorbed by the trees being planted. Secondly, the company is helping to increase local forest cover and improve biodiversity – important factors now recognised as vital in the management of climate change. With this in mind, it’s easy to understand why biomass is now being cited by many as a vital tool in helping governments to achieve the impossible; to reach targets in reducing heat that is produced from coal, oil or gas while also meeting rapidly rising energy demands.
McCracken explains further, “When a tree falls to the ground and rots, it releases carbon dioxide. When we harvest a tree from a local forest, Balcas uses every part of it to create timber products and energy. The products we create from the timber such as those used in construction become long term carbon sinks that store carbon long after the original tree would have rotted and decayed if left in the forest naturally. We also use 100% renewable energy to create the wood pellets. Over the last 10 years, Balcas Energy has sold 2 million tonnes of wood pellets, displacing 1 billion litres of oil, equating to an estimated 3 million tonnes of carbon saving.”
Balcas Energy are proud to control every aspect of the supply chain from forest to flame, guaranteeing a consistency of supply and quality of product. And this control now extends to the simplicity and power of the revised Balcas Energy branding.
This refreshed approach to communications follows Balcas’ purchase in 2018 of Forever Fuels. The joining of brites, the largest manufacturer of wood pellets with Forever Fuels, one of the UK’s largest wood pellet distributor has created a service orientated company that puts the customer first. Balcas Energy also provides energy to industry with fully managed wood pellet burning heat plants including steam generating plants.
Balcas Energy pioneered the local development of wood pellets in 2004 with Brites. In 2018, the company purchased Forever Fuels, the largest wood pellet distributor in the UK. In early 2020, Balcas consolidated the Brites and Forever Fuels brands as Balcas Energy. Balcas Energy has 10 depots – 2 in Ireland and 8 across GB and 45 dedicated delivery vehicles. Balcas Energy has a sister business Balcas Timber – a symbiotic relationship that results in 100% yield from harvested timber. Balcas is part of the multinational SHV Group, a family owned organisation with a turnover of €20 Billion who employ 60,000 people worldwide.
