British ColumbiaA wood pellet plant in Williams Lake, B.C., is set to cease operations by the end of 2025, leading to 30 jobs being lost and what local officials say is further proof of an ailing B.C. forestry industry.Drax says its pellet plant in the Central Interior will cease operations at the end of 2025Akshay Kulkarni · CBC News · Posted: Nov 26, 2025 6:34 PM EST | Last Updated: 1 hour agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The Williams Lake, B.C., pellet plant run by U.K. company Drax, seen here in this undated file picture, is set to shut down at the end of 2025. (Drax)A wood pellet plant in Williams Lake, B.C., is set to cease operations by the end of 2025, leading to 30 jobs being lost and what local officials say is further proof of an ailing B.C. forestry industry.U.K.-based renewable energy company Drax, which operates the plant at South Lakeside Drive in the Central Interior community, announced the impending closure on Wednesday.In a statement announcing the decision to cease operations, Drax cited the closure of nearby sawmills and the lack of available fibre as the primary reasons for shuttering the plant.”The curtailment and closures of neighbouring sawmills and the loss of a bid for key local supply have led to a significant reduction in fibre availability, thus making continuing operations at the plant no longer commercially viable,” Drax said in its statement.WATCH | Lumber mill closes in nearby 100 Mile House:Over 165 jobs lost with closure of longtime B.C. lumber millMore than 160 people will soon lose their jobs as a major lumber mill in the Cariboo will close by the end of the year. As Jacqueline Gelineau reports, this will have major impacts on the community of 100 Mile House, B.C.Williams Lake Mayor Surinderpal Rathor told CBC News that the community was devastated by numerous shutdowns in the industry, and the latest closure will result in the loss of hundreds of thousands in tax revenue for the city.”My reaction is I’m very upset right now, I feel very sorry for the workers, for the people,” he said.”Not this time, especially just before Christmas. It’s sad.”Williams Lake Mayor Surinderpal Rathor said the timing of the closure news was unfortunate, coming as it did just before Christmas. (Hanomansing Tonight)Beth Veenkamp, the city’s manager of economic development, said the closure was a blow to Williams Lake and nearby communities in the Interior and northern B.C. that rely on the forestry industry.”This is just another symptom of a really unhealthy industry,” she said.”If we’re not losing our resources due to wildfires, then we’ve got the tariff issue that we’re dealing with that impacts stuff,” she added.Veenkamp said the impact from the 30 lost jobs would trickle down further in the community of around 11,000 people located about 325 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.”Drax is a company that uses residuals, so they’re using the waste from other producers. And so when we see other producers not producing anymore, that’s one of the impacts,” she said.A number of lumber mills in B.C. have been shutting down in recent years, as escalating U.S. duties on softwood lumber imports have piled atop challenges like a major beetle infestation and wildfires, leading to thousands of jobs lost.CBC News has reached out to the Forests Ministry to find out how the government is working to increase the availability of fibre in the province.Drax said in its statement that it was offering a “comprehensive support plan” for the 30 employees who would be affected by the closure, which would include a severance package and well-being support.With files from Jenifer Norwell
Local officials decry job losses as Williams Lake, B.C., pellet plant is set to shut down
