State energy company Bord na Móna will shortly seek Government approval for its plan to spend €60 million building a wood pellet factory in the US, it is understood. Last September, the State company announced that it wanted to spend €60 million building a plant in Georgia that would turn willow trees into pellets to be exported to the Republic as fuel for electricity generators. Such a move requires approval from Minister for the Environment Denis Naughten. Bord na Móna is likely to seek this backing shortly. The company said that it was working on the business case for potential investment in a wood pellet manufacturing plant in the US. …When it announced the Georgia plan, Bord na Móna explained that there was a shortage of biomass – wood and plants burned as fuel – in the Republic, forcing it to look abroad for supplies.