Balcas Energy Reviews

4.7 Rating 1,666 Reviews

96 %

of reviewers recommend Balcas Energy

About Balcas Energy:

Balcas Energy is part of Balcas, a natural leader in the world of timber.
We opened our first sawmill in 1962 and became one of the largest in the UK and Ireland. Our success came from our knowledge of and respect for timber. In our quest to make the most of every precious tree, Balcas Energy was born.

A co-product of our operations is pure sawdust. In 2004, using natural tree resin as a binder, our engineers pioneered the production of high quality wood pellets.

Originally known as brites, our high grade EN plus pellets have since grown to become 50% of our business. In 2016, Balcas purchased the UK’s largest wood pellet distribution company Forever Fuels and in 2019, with growth in mind, rebranded as Balcas Energy. Balcas Energy is proud to employ some of the most experienced biomass experts in the UK and Ireland and thanks to our advanced Combined Heat and Power plant, both of our production sites are self-sufficient.

Balcas Energy’s Invergordon and Enniskillen sites have production capacities of 120,000 tonnes and 60,000 tonnes of wood pellets respectively. Our operations are so efficient that we put surplus electricity back into the grid throughout the year.

Balcas employs over 380 people and an additional 300 are engaged in forest harvesting and haulage on our behalf.

Visit our Online Shop: https://balcasenergy.com/online-shop/

Visit Website

Phone:

02866411001

Email:

energy@balcas.com

Location:

75 Killadeas Road, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh
BT94 2ES

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Balcas Energy 5 star review on 9th February 2022

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

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“Up until we received our Wood Pellet order all aspects of customers services was very good. However once the delivery had been made we found that the quantity delivered was not as stated or what was ordered. I ordered 5 tonnes. Our silo has 5 tonne capacity and our 5 windows are always fully covered when we order 5 tonnes or just shy of 5 tonnes depending on the little that remains prior to delivery! Please explain why we have a ticket confirming 5 tonnes but have clearly not received 5 tonnes. We placed a complaint as soon as Monday or Tuesday of this week following the delivery on the previous Friday. We still had not had a call back from anyone concerned and i chased on Friday early afternoon where i was promised a call by close of business. It took much persistence and frustration on the telephone to manage to get a call returned at 4:45 by a lady rep called Claire. The gentlemen who supposedly assured a call back (Craig) had left for the day without that promised call!”

Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago

Our trucks are equipped with Legal-for-Trade weigh-loaders, certified accurate to 20kg by Trading Standards, and sealed against any tampering with a tamper-proof seal. There is no possibility of a deliberate attempt to charge for the wrong amount. There are two possibilities: 1. We believe the store is of this type - http://www.biomasssilosystems.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/W522-Data-Sheet.pdf - and has an internal volume of 10.16 m3. The bulk density of ENplus-A1 wood pellets can vary from 600 to 750 kg/m3, but in practice is likely to be between 620 and 700 kg/m3. 5 tonnes may therefore commonly vary in volume from 8.06 m3 and 7.14 m3. The store consists of an inverted pyramid and five vertical sections of equal height. The volume of the pyramid is approx. 1.33 m3. So the volume within the vertical sections is approx. 8.83 m3, or 1.77 m3 per section. Each section is about 0.45m high. If the store were empty before delivery, the bulk density were 620 kg/m3 and (a false assumption to simplify the initial calculation) the pellets filled evenly to a level, then the pellets would be approximately 80% of the way up the 4th vertical panel. Under the same assumptions except a bulk density of 700 kg/m3, the pellets would fill to about 30% up the 4th vertical panel. In practice, the pellets do not fill to a level. They fall away from the central inlet point. So the level at the center of the store will be higher than the average and the level in the corners will be lower. The viewing ports are in a corner and therefore show a lower level than the average. The "angle of repose" will typically be 20 to 30°. We believe your store is 2 metres across (i.e. 1 metre from the centre to the corner), so the difference in height will probably be around 0.36 - 0.58 m. The peak will be as much above the average as the corner is below it, so we need to divide by two to get the difference between the average and the corner, and the viewing ports are not absolutely in the corner, so we need to allow a little for that as well. The level at the viewing ports is probably 0.15 - 0.25 m below the average fill level. In other words, in the above calculations, with a bulk density of 620 kg/m3, the level at the viewing ports should be around 20-40% of the way up the section/port, and with a bulk density of 700 kg/m3, the level at the viewing ports should be near the top of the third section. You said on the phone that the silo was filled to "just about past or level with the third hole". Your store has four holes or viewing ports in each of the top four sections. We assume this refers to the third port from the bottom, i.e. the port in the fourth section. If so, we have filled to a higher level than would be expected for 5 tonnes, if the store were empty at the time of delivery. Of course, the store probably wasn't empty before delivery. The store also probably wasn't empty before your previous deliveries by a competitor. What we can't know is how much was in the store on each occasion. Moreover, you probably don't know that either, because a weakness of this kind of store is that it is not easy to open an access hatch to check the fill level before delivery. The level visible in the viewing ports is little use to judge the fill level before delivery, because you can only tell whether a port is covered in pellets or not, not how much above it is covered, nor how the pellets are sloping behind a covered port. We can say with confidence that there must have been a material quantity of pellets in the store before every delivery (otherwise the top port would never have been covered). There may well have been more remaining in the store at the time of our predecessor's deliveries than at the time of our delivery. You will remember that you switched to us because we were able to deliver sooner - implying that you were more desperate than you had been on previous deliveries. The easy/credible explanation for your experience is that your store was more empty than usual, and therefore 5 tonnes rose less far up the store than for previous deliveries. This may have been exacerbated by a difference in the bulk density between the pellets we delivered and the pellets you have previously received. The store does not have a capacity of 5 tonnes. The manufacturer's conservative estimate is 5.5 tonnes, and that (prudently) allows for a low bulk density and a substantial unfilled void at the top. You may also have received more than 5 tonnes previously, as the weigh-loaders used by our competitor are not as accurate as ours. That is not something that we are obliged to continue. 3. The alternative possibility is that our Legal-for-Trade weigh-loader has gone out of calibration. To check that, we would need to send the truck away to the mannufacturer for a week for extensive and expensive tests. The cost is in the thousands. This is unlikely to be the cause, but if you insist on verification, we would do so, but only on the basis that you will accept the costs if the tests confirm that the weigh-loaders have not gone out of calibration, as they are very likely to do. Are you sufficiently confident in your judgment that you have been short-changed that you would like us to send the truck for a calibration check? Obviously, if you are confident, you face no risk of a charge as the vehicle must be out of calibration. If you are not willing to accept your liability for an unnecessary test, then you are admitting that you are less certain that you have been short-changed than you say you are.

Posted 6 years ago

“Change of delivery day and almost ran out of pellets. High price increase against other suppliers. However, Gary (delivery driver) took care to minimise blown pressure as previous issues with ripped impact mat. Appeared to improve situation as minimal dust also. Thanks”

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(Okehampton) - Posted 6 years ago

“Delivered on the day. A helpful and courteous driver.”

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(Avonmouth) - Posted 6 years ago

“Delivered on time with knowledgeable driver”

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(Okehampton) - Posted 6 years ago

“Good prompt delivery”

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(Middlewich) - Posted 6 years ago

“No Fuss, competant delivery, went well”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Driver didnt know to split the load putting half in the back feed and half in the front to balance the pellets in the store not sure if he is new so I explained anyway>”

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(Middlewich) - Posted 6 years ago

“Great delivery service.”

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(Fishburn) - Posted 6 years ago

“Prompt delivery after ordering. Professional, courteous delivery driver,”

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(Avonmouth) - Posted 6 years ago

“YOU ALWAYS LET US KNOW WHEN YOU ARE ARRIVING AND DELIVERY ALWAYS GOES SMOOTHLY - DELIVERY NOTES SHOULD BE LEFT AT THE RICKYARD THOUGH PLEASE OR HANDED TO STAFF - ONE TODAY WAS LEFT TUCKED UNDER PLANTROOM DOOR.”

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(Avonmouth) - Posted 6 years ago

“Richard the driver is excellent. Professional and very helpful.”

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(Avonmouth) - Posted 6 years ago

“Friendly and efficient driver. Good warning of delivery time”

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(Avonmouth) - Posted 6 years ago

“As always Forever Fuels pellet delivery was extremely efficient. They came within an hourly time slot (so nice not to have to hang around all day waiting) and the delivery was conducted in a very clean and helpful way. Forever Fuels never disappoints”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Great service - always prompt and polite.”

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(Fishburn) - Posted 6 years ago

“As always, very helpful drivers who know their business and are friendly and professional”

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(East Kilbride) - Posted 6 years ago

“Driver very professional and informative.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“Everything went fine”

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(Okehampton) - Posted 6 years ago

“Good ordering facilities. Always come when they say, Phone ahead to let you know when they will arrive. Friendly and courteous drivers.”

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(East Kilbride) - Posted 6 years ago

“As always, great communications and great service. Many thanks Paul.”

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Posted 6 years ago

“On day of delivery we were informed quantity would be reduced by 25% yet you already had our money for the full amount. Until prompted you were quite happy not to return it.”

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(East Kilbride) - Posted 6 years ago

Balcas Energy is rated 4.7 based on 1,666 reviews